A Deal With The Devil
by PenCraft31.13
Summary: (COFFEE GIRL):Hinata, to recover at most half of her father's fortune after his death, makes a deal with the devil to work for the Uchihas,her clan's sworn enemies. What if she gets more than she bargained for and what if Uchihas who have sworn to crush her right to her soul are the ones who made a deal with the devil instead & end up giving more than is stated in their contract ?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! Here's just another idea put to work. Hope you like it. Don't forget to review**!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or it's characters.**

**Chapter 1.**

Hinata run as fast as her legs could take her as soon as she stepped out of her Mercedes. She burst through the hospital doors running straight to the reception desk with panic written all over her face.

" I am Hyuuga Hinata, where is Hyuuga Hisahi's room?" She asked urgently.

The receptionist immediately recognised her as soon as she saw her characteristic whitish Hyuuga eyes. She was the first of the whole Hyuuga empire. The receptionist immediately went to her kissing of ass mode.

" He was rushed to the theatre as soon as he was brought miss Hyuuga." she said sweetly forgetting how grave the situation was.

" Where is it?" Hinata asked impatiently.

" Its on the fifth floor. I could take y-" before she could finish her sentence, Hinata dashed off to the said place leaving her hanging.

Hinata could feel her heart pound in her ears as the elevator got her closer to the fifth floor. Her mind was far away from there, echoing the phone call that brought her here in her head.

Ooo

ooo

Her father had gone to the Uchiha's for an important meeting on a business deal they started. He left her in charge of the office and she was about to leave her office for his to drop the files she had just worked on when her phone began to ring on her desk. She turned to pick it up but was quite surprised and confused it was her father's chauffeur, Kò, calling her. She didn't know why but it seemed to make her uneasy. She shook off the feeling and tapped answer on her screen.

Before she could talked, Ko's anguished voice burst through her phone.

" Hinata-sama! Please come to the City Central Hospital right this moment!"

This alarmed Hinata. Was it her father?

" Where's my father?" she asked with fear lacing her voice.

The sigh Ko gave made her heart start to race.

" He..he had a heart attack. It doesn't look good, Hinata-sama."

ooo

ooo

The sound of the elevators doors opening brought her back from her reverie just in time to step out unto the fifth floor. She instantly got to her heels, frantically looking for any sign or inscription of a theatre. She turned a corner and her eyes hit the bold letters of the sign THEATRE on top of two doors. Like a mad woman, she was about to burst through them but she was grabbed by someone by the arm. She turned to see the familiar face of Ko, making her calm down a bit and come to her senses.

" Hinata- sama, you can't go in the there. They are still operating on your father."

She nodded quietly in understanding.

" How long has he been there?" Hinata asked her voice with deep concern.

" For about 2 hours, Hinata-sama." he replied.

Hinata turned to fixate her eyes on the doors as if she could see through them.

" How...when did it happen?" without moving her eyes from the doors she asked.

" When we were on our way back to the office." Ko answered earning a silent nod from the worried woman.

He debated on whether to say what he had deliberately left out whiles he looked at her silently.

" He looked visibly pale and not too well though when he came from the Uchiha building. He brushed it off when I asked." he added.

This was enough to tear Hinata's eyes off the door to Ko's face with surprise on her face.

" Really?"

Ko simply nodded in reply.

Hinata slowly turned her head away and from her face, Ko could see what he said made many things rush through her head. similar things that slso came to mind wgen he stopped to ponder about the whole situation

_What must have happened in the meeting to trigger all this?_ She wondered as she paced infront of the theatre.

His his heart condition and blood pressure weren't that serious and the family doctor even applauded him for being able to keep them at a healthy level.

This made her even more confused.

_Did something go wrong? What could have gone so horribly wrong to cause a full blown hear-_

Before she could finish that thought the doors of the theatre opened to reveal a man in blue scrubs prompting both Hinata and Ko to rush to him. He removed his face mask to reveal a grim look on his face washing Hinata with dread. His eyes went to her face immediately recognising her and making the grim even deeper on his face.

Hinata took in a deep shaky breath and proceeded to ask her question.

" Doctor...how is he?" she asked trying to hide the fear in her voice.

He let out a dejected sigh before lifting his eyes to look straight into hers.

" I'm sorry, miss Hyuuga...he couldn't make it." He announced with heaviness in his voice.

Hinata could just stand there frozen in place with bulging eyes like she had just swallowed a grenade that was just about to explode from inside her anytime soon. She had just heard those words but it had not dawned on her. As if to take care of that, the nurses came out of the theatre wheeling out a body covered fully with a white cloth. Like it had a mind of its own, Hinata's hand shot out and grabbed the stretcher firmly making it and the nurses wheeling it screech to an abrupt halt. Ignoring the surprised looks of the nurses, she gingerly reached out slowly with her other shaky hand to unveil the body. As she was doing so, she prayed silently someway somehow it wasn't her father and was probably a misunderstanding, but, it was if her prayers were yielding the opposite effect as every inch of the cloth that she pulled off showed more and more of that very familiar face...that belonged to no other than him...her father.

Her heart froze still when she finally fully pulled off the cloth to reveal him lying there, lifeless with his skin as pale as paper. This was the trigger needed for the grenade inside her to explode. Her heart started to pump but every beat seemed to pump acid instead of blood all over her body. The acid seemed reach her eyes as she could feel even the tears burn her eyes as they brimmed them and with one tear, they streaming down her face in torrents. Her chest felt like it was about to explode because she forgot to breathe and when she did it came out with a loud heart wrenching sob.

_**Hyuugas do not show emotions no matter the circumstances**_.

Her cries echoed through the whole floor as her legs gave way, falling down her knees and trembling violently with every hard sob she gave.

**_Hyuugas are the epitome and standard of poise and elegance in all situations_**.

That was what she was thought all her life by her father. And here she was making all that nonsense right before his corpse. He would have reprimanded her with those steely stern eyes of his. How she wished he would.

Her father was always hard and firm with her and her little sister especially Hinata since she first in line to inherit the Hyuuga empire. But even with that, he never failed to be a father to them and made them always feel his love for them im his own special way especially after their mother died. He was the rock they could rely on and their protector...and now he was gone leaving she and Hanabi all alone in this cold and harsh world.

_Hanabi_...

The thought of her little sister and how she was going to break the news to her, made her even cry harder and making her start to have difficulty breathing well alarming Ko on how her weeping had reach an unhealthy level.

_If she continues like this..._

Hinata's eyes and mind became so clouded as she started gasping for air, completely loosing her bearings. Before she could fall in her own heap, Ko caught her in time as he yelled for medical attention for the broken heiress.

* * *

**Breaking news: Hyuuga Hisashi, Chairman of the Hyuuga Group of companies just died of cardiac arrest at the City Central Hospital this afternoon. Report says...**

Fugaku Uchiha could not help the unsual wide grin that threatened to split his face into two. He turned to see his right hand man, Koga, a middle aged man,mirror his expression. All his plans had been successful but this eventhough wasn't part of his plans, was the best news by far.

" This is a cause for celebration." Fugaku announced joyfully. " Koga bring out the best champagne and some glasses." Koga promptly heeded to his request and proceeded to the mini bar to fetch these items. After popping the champagne and filling the glasses of both he and his right hand man, he lifted his glass to propose a toss.

" This is to Hisahi. All this joy wouldn't be possible without him being so kind to die at this very point in time. To Hisahi Hyuuga!" with his little speech he clang the tip of his glass to that of Koga's before taking his sweet time downing and savouring his champagne. Just then the doors burst open to reveal his eldest son and first heir of the Uchiha conglomerate, Itachi Uchiha, with his piercing gaze on his father as he marched into the room.

" Ah Itachi! You came just in time to join us in our celebration, get him a glass Koga." Fugaku welcomed him ignoring Itachi's mood. Itachi tore his eyes from his father to the large flat screen television to see the news of Hisahi Hyuuga's demise still being reported before he turned to give his father a hard accusatory look.

" So this is why you didn't want me at the meeting."

" How was I to know the great Hisashi Hyuuga had a weak heart." Fugaku replied in mocked innocence.

" What happened to the deal between you guys?" the question made Fugaku pause mid way to taking another sip of his drink.

He didn't fail to notice the flicker of concern in his son's voice.

" Why are you so concern about the dead man especially considering he was the enemy?"

" You haven't answered me, father."

" Not when my own heir seems to have a soft spot for the enemy for some unknown reason."

The two Uchihas stared down at each other neither of them of them ready to yield and let the other gave his way.

_This would take the whole day._

Koga sighed as he took the glass of champagne to the younger Uchiha to break the ice.

" Your drink, sir ". He said in a cheery tone which sounded especially off and odd in this setting.

His smile completely wiped off when Itachi finally broke the stare only to throw a death glare at him making Koga unconsciously step back and almost let go of the glass in fright.

Of all the Uchiha's, he was most afraid of Itachi. He seemed to have a lot up his sleeve, even more than his cunning and calculating father. What even made him more unsettled about him were those eyes of his; he gave nothing away in them but they always seemed to pierce through one's soul and see what was in it. It made Koga bristle at the thought of how much Itachi could see of him which of no one was supposed to.

" Get out." The venom in Itachi's voice was enough to make his insides cringe.

He nonetheless turn his eyes to Fugaku for approval to which he nodded for him to go.

" Excuse me." with that, Koga quickly left the room.

Itachi turned back to his father to see his eyes still on him.

" I can see you are read to talk now." Fugaku said.

Itachi stared at his father for another minute as if to read something from his face first before he replied.

" Only if you agree we both lay our cards on the table, fair and square. "

Fugaku seemed to take time to ponder over this as he also searched his son's eyes and saw he was dead serious about it which he knew he saw only because Itachi allowed it. But that was enough for him.

" Fine. Have a seat and let's talk."

* * *

" Hey Itachi have you hea-" Sasuke paused in mid sentence when he was met with an empty office when he entered his brother's office...without knocking as usual.

_Where could he be?_

Sasuke stepped out of the office unto the main hall to head back to his only to see his father's right hand man, Koga, coming from the direction of his father's office with two glasses of champagne in his hands. Sasuke rolled his eyes at this.

_Unbelievable._

Sasuke could careless about that snob of a Hyuuga, heck he disliked all of them for the stupid airs they put up and build around them, but to celebrate another person death was a whole new low he thought even his callous father would never reach.

" Oh c'mon you guys even had champagne for this? How classy and thoughtful of you guys." Sasuke said sarcastically as he took the untouched glass from the elderly man and downed the contents in one gulp.

" And its one fine champagne. By the way have you seen my brother?" Sasuke asked as he carelessly handed the glass back to Koga.

" Yes, he is in your father's office, they are having a private talk." the older man replied.

" I can see that since you were kicked out." Sasuke sneered.

" Excuse me, sir." Koga said before escaping another uncomfortable situation.

But after the man left, Sasuke allowed a surprised look on his face.

_So even Itachi is in on all this shit. And everyone one says I'm the heartless one_.

" Tsk." Sasuke shrugged his shoulders before making his journey to his office.

* * *

Hanabi had been standing there motionlessly for several minutes staring at her father lying down in his lifeless state. She could almost mistaken him to be asleep but the absence of his chest moving up and down to breathe proved otherwise.

_He was gone. Her father was gone._

She was still trying to wrap her mind around it...trying to understand and feel the depth of the whole situation...but she couldn't.

Instead she felt this gaping whole of emptiness inside her preventing her from feeling all the sadness and grief she ought to feel. It was like it was like it was protecting her from the overwhelming pain of loosing her beloved father.

Or maybe she was just being a Hyuuga, a hard cold unfeeling model of poise a Hyuuga was supposed to be. She turned slowly to view her big sister's broken state blatantly refute that claim. Ko still had to hold her as she trembled in his arms with swollen teary eyes trying to stop weeping so as to be able be strong for Hanabi when she also breaks.

Hanabi almost chuckled at this.

Hinata could not be strong for herself and wanted to be for someone. Well that was Hinata for you. Always thinking of the welfare of others but herself. Hanabi came to the conclusion that maybe she wasn't there yet emotionally to mourn properly to be there for sister this time round.

_Yes that must be it._

Hanabi took one last look at her father before walking towards Ko and her sister. When she stood infront of them, she slipped her hand into Hinata's and gave it a gentle squeeze getting Hinata to turn to her.

She looked pitiful.

Her eyes were so puffy she had to squint to see and her normally pale face was red especially her nose. Hinata felt so ashamed for letting Hanabi see her like this. She had to be the strong one here and now she had to even be supported to stand well.

Hanabi reached out to wipe the tear that managed to escape her sister's eyes. Hinata couldn't like this here. Being here was making her suffer. They had to leave.

" Let's go home, Nata."

* * *

It would have taken some amount of strength to cut through the tension in the room with these two intimidating men. They both mirrored each other's expressions as they both looked at the other with shock at what they each shared. And the shock gradually turned to the urge to strangle the other for what he had confessed to have done. After what seemed like forever after glaring at each other in silence, Itachi finally stood up to take his leave, afraid if he stay a minute longer he would put his homicidal thoughts of his father into action. As he turned and was on his way out, he stopped in his steps as Fugaku finally spoke.

" Are you even Uchiha?" Fugaku's voice was thick with shock and disappointment.

Itachi turned to regard the man he was now ashamed to call his father.

" Are you even human?" his voice was cold and thick with disgust. And his words seemed to take Fugaku aback as his eyes widen a fraction before he composed himself.

" You are going to end that atrocity with immediate effect or else-" Fugaku threatened but was interrupted by Itachi.

" Or else what?" Itachi challenged." Are you going to force me too through the same filthy means you did with Hyuuga Hisahi?"

" Uchiha Itachi!" Fugaku boomed in shock and fury at Itachi words.

Itachi had had enough. With one final look of spite towards his father, he turned on his heels and left leaving a fuming Fugaku with his half glass of now warm champagne.

**_Reviews please!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello guys! Sorry this took long. My course is taking too much of my time. Anyways thanx for your reviews, keep em coming. **

**Chapter 2**

"She is finally asleep. '' Ko said as Hanabi nodded in confirmation whiles she wiped some tears from her sleeping sister's face.

Ko looked quietly at the girl who had not even shed a tear since her father's death. And it made him worry. It wasn't that he wanted her to cry herself sick like Hinata, but she not showing any emotion whatsoever considering her dad who was her everything just died was disturbing. He caught her a few times spacing out for long periods like now making him worry more.

"Hanabi-sama."

"Eh?" she blurted out after finally coming back to earth.

"Are you ok?" He asked concerned.

Hanabi just blinked owlishly at him for sometime before what he meant finally dawned on her.

She sighed finally.

"I…..I don't know. Maybe I'm still waiting for him to burst through the doors and say 'I'm home.'" She said with a dry laugh.

Ko just looked at her intently with an even more worried mind. Just then the phone had in his hand blared to indicate the arrival of a new message. This brought Hanabi"s attention to the device. It was Hinata's. She raised an eye brow.

_When and how long has he had Hina's phone?_

A sudden yawn escape her lips taking her mind off the topic to her realisation of how tired she was. She had been trying to put Hinata to sleep all this while forgetting she also needed to sleep.

"You need to rest Hanabi-sama. Would you retire to your chambers or stay…"

Before he could complete his sentence, she just flopped backwards unto Hinata's side and was gone in flash.

"…here?" Ko just spared sleepimg girls one last look before turning off the lights om his way out.

As soon as he got out, he raised Hinata's phone to his face to check the new message. As soon he saw the sender, he cursed under his breathe.

_Him again?_

He has been sending messages non-stop since the news of Hiashi's death was came out. Ko was glad he took possession of Hinata's phone in time without her noticing because Hinata was in no condition to face him especially after suspicions surrounding her father's death. It wasn't even right for her to even interact with him with him in the first place especially now. Ko had been checking all the numerous he had been sending the whole day, asking how Hinata was and more even when he didn't receive any reply. Ko had to admit with much reluctance he was surprised that man could show this much concern for a human being much more a Hyuuga like Hinata. He always acted like he had cold wate running through his veins and so detached from the world even more than his kind eventhough they are most known for that trait.

_Did he really…._

As soon as Ko felt his hardened disposition for the man start to waver, he immediately put himself in check.

_No. He is just like all of them._

Ko then opened the message and what he read made his eyes almost pop out.

_He what?!_

* * *

In the dark night outside the gates of the Hyuuga mansion, a black Porsche was parked outside with a dark haired man leaning on the door of the car with his hands in his pocket. He didn't realise or how he got here but he knew why.

He had to see her.

He knew she wouldn't be in the state to check messages much more see his numerous ones and reply but he continued to send them with the hope that she might see his to reply so as to put his mind at peace a little. He knew coming wasn't right in the first place especially now.

But he had to see with his two eyes how she was. After he had barged out of his father's office after hearing the ugly truth, even with his clouded mind his first instinct was to rush to her side at the hospital, but that would have made matters worst for her especially with virtually all the reporters in the city there to scavenge whatever news they might get their hands on concerning this bombshell of a news. Instead he had driven around the whole day in deep thought to where ever the road would lead him. Who knew it would lead him here? Or it was rather his heart that led him here?

He chuckled.

Before he knew he had taken his phone out and started typing another message to Hinata. Again.

_**I'm outside your house. **_

He tapped send on his phone screen.

_Should I have said more than that?_

He asked himself as soon he sent the message.

He shrugged away the thought and put his hands in his pockets again. He knew she would understand what he meant if she where to see his message. Eventhough it was well known it was hard to understand him, Hinata was one of the very few who understood him and as such was one of the very few he allowed this close to him. This close for him to stand outside her house in the cold dark night waiting for her even though he knew the probability of her seeing his message and coming out was low. He allowed a small smile grace his lips. Who would have thought that the great Itachi Uchiha the walking ice block could let one little woman who happened to have enemy blood in every core of her being thaw him this much. People would die of shock if they were to know this fact. No wonder his father looked like he was going to choke to death when he told him about them. He wished he did after what his father had confessed to him. If it wasn't for his perfect self-control he would have done so with his bare hands. That was why he was here. He heart was going to be at ease if he didn't see her.

He checked his watch. It was almost an hour since he sent the message and there was no sign of her. Just when he was about to take his phone out to contact her, his ear caught the sound of someone approaching but in the distance it was hard to see who it was. Since the person was approaching him it could only be Hinata because she would know he was here.

" Hinata?" he called out.

But to his surprise the voice that replied to his call wasn't hers. It was that of a male.

"Hinata-sama is asleep."

_That voice….._

Just when Itachi recognized the owner of the voice, the said came forward to reveal himself. And Itachi wasn't pleased at who it was.

"What are you doing here, Uchiha?" Ko asked in a hard tone.

"I should be asking you that, Ko." Itachi replied in a cold voice purposefully addressing him with his face name knowing he hated it very much when he that.

Ko huffed at the incredibility of this guy's impudence.

"If you have so forgotten where you are, Uchiha, you are trespassing Hyuuga grounds." Ko spat out.

Itachi just stared blankly at the almost fuming man for sometime before he asked.

"How did you know I was here?"

The question took Ko back a little making him blink owlishly for a moment before he gained his composure.

"I don't have to explain myself to you. All you have to know is Hinata-sama can't see you and you have to leave right this moment." Ko snapped.

"Not when Hinata's privacy is to be questioned since even servants can access something as private as her messages." Itachi cold voice was laced with venom, irritated at the fact that Ko read his messages to Hinata.

Ko gave a dry humourless laugh.

"Are you uncomfortable at the fact that a servant like me got to see for myself how the heartless Itachi Uchiha actually has a heart that beats for no other than a Hyuuga?" Ko sneered.

Itachi just stared coolly at the man with his emotionless face not betraying his immense irritation at the man before him.

"You said she was asleep. That's good enough. Make sure she knows I was here and also…all my messages to her you read." He ended his statement with disdain before turning on heels to leave. But what Ko asked him next made him pause in his tracks.

"Were you there when Hiashi-sama had the meeting with your father?"

Itachi turned to face him.

"I do not have to explain my whereabouts to the likes of you, Ko." Itachi bit back.

"Yes you are right, Uchiha. You don't have to explain yourself to me. But after I told Hinata her father suffered that heart attack that killed him as soon as he came from that meeting, you would have a lot of explaining to do to her." Ko said with a satisfied smirk on his face at how Itachi's face hardened at his statement.

"Instead of me why not you who if you had be diligent with your duties you would have got her father to the hospital in time to be saved instead of doing something as suspicious as reading her messages? Since you were the last person with him….who knows what actually happened?"

Ko froze at this with his eyes bulging out of their sockets. He felt his heart race from shock to anger. Upon serving, honouring and respecting Hiashi all his life, how could a mere Uchiha question his great loyalty to his master and go as far as try to blame his death on him when he and his wretched family are the actual suspects.

"How dare you?" Ko hissed at Itachi with his eyes glazed with anger.

Itachi smirked at this.

He knew his words had got to him especially where he said Ko not getting Hiashi to the hospital in time might have caused his death. That would keep him thinking.

Itachi walked up to him so he could look straight into his eyes.

"Let me give you a word of advice, Ko… Know your place."

And with that Itachi walked to his car and drove off leaving a much shaken Ko alone in the cold night.

* * *

Fugaku's eyes were fixated on the documents Hiashi signed before leaving his office to his death as he downed another shot of whiskey. He should be having an all day celebration at his greatest enemy's fall like he had started earlier in the day. But all had been ruined thanks to his own son and successor. He still had not been able to get over the shock at what his son had confessed to him. He felt his whole world crush around him and everything he had worked for to reach this moment when he had victory over Hiashi go down the drain.

_Why Itachi….why? Even Sasuke would not do something like this._

All this was so unlike Itachi. He was the perfect son. Any father's pride and joy. From when he was a child he had been taught and brought up to make sure hatred for Hyuugas was in every core and fibre of his body, so then why? Why would he go against everything that made him an Uchiha? Fugaku's aura darkened some more. He would never let this continue. It would be over his dead body.

* * *

Hinata fluttered her eyes open to meet the ceiling of her room. Her mind was blank as she laid there on her bed with her body feeling unusually heavy for her to move. She was surprised when she heard a sleepy mumble at her side only to see Hanabi slumbering beside her on her bed. Which surprised Hinata evenmore because since she became a teenager, Hanabi became fiercely independent and didn't want to be found doing anything she deemed immature like something as sleeping with her big sister. This made Hinata smile at the sleeping girl as she cleared some bangs of her face.

_Maybe she fell asleep when she was putting me to sleep after…_

Before she could finished that thought, she remembered something she had been missing since she woke up which abruptly jolted her to her feet. Like they had a mind of their own, her legs automatically took her out of her room to the master bedroom that belonged to her father. Her heart beat faster with every step that got her nearer to his chambers, praying all the painful memories rushing to her head was just a nightmare she just woke up from, praying she would see him reading in his bed like he did every day at dawn around this time. She finally stood infront of the huge doors to his room, taking a huge deep breath as she raised her hands to knock on his doors. After much hesitation she finally knocked and waited for his familiar deep voice to beckon her in. But after some minutes of waiting she heard nothing. With growing determination, she knocked again this time harder thinking he probably didn't hear her the first time. But like before, no response. Her hands then shot out to push the huge doors open without an invitation. As soon as she entered the room, her eyes immediately went to his huge king sized bed, which was neatly laid. totally untouched and empty. The sight made her heart begin to sink. Refusing to believe reality, she stubbornly went to check his bathroom, closet and his private library in his room and they all had no trace of him ever being there. Even his scent was faint almost gone. And that's when like a ton of bricks, reality hit her.

Hard.

He was gone. He was no more with them. Hinata slid down slowly against the wall she was supporting her body on with the previous day's memories rushing into her head along with the immense pain that came along with it. But after all the intense emotions and tears of yesterday, she couldn't shed even a single tear. She was too drained to. All she could feel was the emptiness in her heart and the slow acceptance of the painful reality of her father's death. After sitting on the floor of the huge room alone with her thoughts letting the hours pass her by even when the sun had come out a long time ago trying to take whatever was left of her father in her, she finally stood up and trudge slowly out of the room.

_Mother will take care of him._

When she stepped out of her father's room and was about to head towards her room she met Hanabi heading there but stopped mid step when she saw Hinata. Hanabi immediately darted her eyes to the side and stood there awkwardly like she was caught stealing cookie from the jar. Hinata stared at her little sister in amusement.

"Good morning Hana. The room is all yours" Hinata said as she passed her by.

" W-who said I was going there?" Hanabi stuttered with her cheeks dusted in pink.

But Hinata walk on with a small smile gracing her lips knowing Hanabi was waiting for her to be out of sight before she enters their father's room. It made Hinata's heart lighten a bit because this was a sign that their father death was finally starting to take its natural effect on her. As she descended the stairs she saw Ko at the phone making some calls.

_He is probably making arrangements for the funeral. _

She should be taking care of that but she was in no mood to talk to any outsiders as at now. His back was turned to her so he hadn't noticed Hinata's presence. Hinata just stood there and waited for him to finish.

"Good morning, Ko." She greeted him after he was done but he jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Oh I'm sorry Ko. Did I startle you?" Hinata asked with concern in her voice.

Ko then turned to give her an assuring look.

"Don't worry Hinata-sama. I didn't notice you were behind me. I hope you were able to sleep well."

Hinata just gave a wistful smile in reply.

"I can see you have started the arrangements for the funeral."

"Yes Hinata-sama. I was able to call all the elders and other relatives to inform them of the news."

"Hmm I see. Most of them wouldn't be able to make it on time if we have the funeral today so let's make it tomorrow."

"Yes Hinata-sama."

" ….. And call the hospital. I want them to run an autopsy on the body before the funeral. It must be done today."

Ko paused to look up at the heiress with surprise. Her eyes were steel with determination like he had never seen her before. That look showed him that she wasn't going to leave any stone unturned in finding the cause of her father's death. This took Ko's mind to the words that had haunted him the whole night.

_**Instead of me why not you who if you had be diligent with your duties you would have got her father to the hospital in time to be saved instead of doing something as suspicious as reading her messages? Since you were the last person with him….who knows what actually happened?**_

His sleep had been wrecked with guilt the whole night at the possibility of he not reaching the hospital a second earlier being the cause of his master's death. All because of that soulless man.

_Damn you, Uchiha._

_He wasn't someone Hinata-sama should be associated with. He is dark hearted just like all those of his blood or even more so than them. It is my duty to protect her from him._

Ko decided not to relay Itachi's messages or that he came here looking for her to Hinata.

"Yes Hinata-sama. I'm going to call the hospital now."

"Thank you, Ko." Hinata said with great gratitude.

"There is nothing to thank me for, Hinata-sama. It is my duty to serve you to my dying breath"

"I am going to see the maids to tell them to get the place ready for the guest arriving." Hinata excused herself to the kitchen with Ko watching her.

He thought her uncontrollable weeping the day before was unhealthy but seeing how she was so calm and going about things smoothly this morning it seemed it did her good. The only person now left is Hanabi who has so far not shown any sign of a young girl who just lost her father. He worried if she wasn't taking the news properly the way she should it might cause greater problems in the future when she has to face all those emotions all at once.

Just then Hinata's phone vibrated in his pocket to indicate the arrival of a new message. He fetched it out of his pocket to see the sender was the same despicable Uchiha. He opened it to read the message only to let a cold shiver to run down his spine at it.

**If you are reading this, Ko, give the phone back to Hinata.**

Ko could just stand there frozen staring at the phone screen with alarmed eyes.

_This man…_

* * *

Itachi dropped his phone on the bed satisfied at his handiwork. He then proceeded to button his shirt when he heard his door bell ring. He walked out of his room to check who it was. He pressed a button on the security camera to see the last person he wanted to see at his doorstep.

His father.

After much hesitation, he opened his door to the said man and automatically they began to glare at each other at the door way.

"Aren't you going to invite me in? Or you have started throwing away common manners taught to you like you have done with everything else taught to you as an Uchiha?" Fugaku snarled.

"If being an Uchiha means adhering to such baseless unproductive ways of thinking then then I will rather live without that name."

"How dare you say that to my face, you impudent boy!" Fugaku barked in fury barely able to restrain himself from hitting the young man.

"Why are you here?" Itachi asked unaffected by his father thunderous temper.

Fugaku calmed himself down before he answered.

"If it were something I could discuss with you at your doorway, I would have done so over the phone."

Itachi just stood there unmoving for sometime before he finally stepped aside for his father to enter his bachelor pad. Even when Fugaku made himself comfortable in his couch, Itachi remained standing to show his impatience at his father. Fugaku just took a deep breath and decided to let this one slide.

"What is the big news you want to tell me?" Itachi asked sarcastically.

Fugaku regarded the young man before he answered.

"You would have to move out of this place to a bigger place."

"I never complained of this place being small for me."

"But you would when you start a family with your new wife."

Itachi paused.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm looking through the prominent families around for a suitable bride amongst them for you." Fugaku said nonchalantly whiles entertaining himself with the pillows in the sofa very well aware of Itachi's stoney gaze on him.

"When you find that suitable bride, you can proceed to marry her yourself." Itachi bit back.

Fugaku had had enough. He shot up to his feet in pure rage at his son impudence.

"It's because of this stupid boorish behaviour of yours that you are going to get married! Look at what they have done to you. The Itachi I know who is my son would never spew such nonsense in my face! The Itachi who is my son would never ever associate with people of dirty blood like the Hyuugas!" Fugaku voice thundered in anger as he shook in pure rage.

"The Fugaku Uchiha I once honoured and respected as my father would never go as far as taint his hands with the so called dirty blood of a Hyuuga just to satisfy his greed."

"If someone were to overhear you the person would think I killed that man with my bare hands." Fugaku warned.

"You were very well aware of the man's heart condition and were very well aware he would not survive the great blow of your treachery." Itachi threw back.

"You dare side with that man and accuse your own father of murder?" Fugaku voice was in total disbelief.

"Yes, when my father reeks of his blood."

Fugaku gave a dry humourless laugh.

"You have tested my patience enough, young man. You are going to get married as soon as possible or else…."

"Or else you are going to harm her?" Itachi's words silenced his father surprising him at how he could read him perfectly.

Itachi eyes turned cold as he held his father's eyes in challenge.

"Touch a single hair on her head and I would personally make sure to let you fall to the deepest pits of hell myself." Itachi threatened with his voice filled with venom.

Fugaku froze in shock not at the words of his son, but at the very rare emotions he had never seen or thought his son could ever exhibit. And he could feel dread wash down his body.

_This was not good. At all._

"If you are done, father, I would like you to excuse me. I have things to do." Itachi said walking to the door and opening it to emphasize his point.

Fugaku stood there stubbornly for sometime before he started making his way to the door whiles chuckling darkly under his breath. When he got infront of his son he paused to address him.

"Remember before her father died he practically signed her life to me and you can do nothing absolutely nothing about me taking everything from her." Fugaku sneered with a sinister smile splitting his face into two before leaving his son there to think of his disturbing words.

One thing run through Itachi's head. He had to see her.

* * *

Sasuke sat by his coffee maker waiting for his coffee with his head pounding with a migraine resulting from a wild night the day before. Bored to hell at the few minutes he had to wait for his coffee because of his well-known impatience, he took the TV remote of his large flat screen TV to scan through the channels. And he regretted he did. All the tv stations seemed to have one thing in common for the first time. They were all talking about Hiashi Hyuuga.

Sasuke felt his migraine increase at the sight. When he thought his morning couldn't get any worse, he got a Hyuuga plastered all over his screen.

And it pissed him off to no end.

He threw his remote somewhere across the room after he turned the TV off and decided to just sit down and wait for his coffee to be ready. His mind just wandered to Itachi and the fact he never returned to his office after he went to their father's. Which meant he left the building after he left their father's office which was unusual of Itachi to leave the office that early. Sasuke then remembered how his father's trusted assistant, Koga, was shown the way out with champagne glasses in his hands which meant whatever Itachi and their father were talking about was highly confidential after their somewhat party over the dead Hyuuga. For some reason eventhough the champagne glasses clearly showed they were celebrating, something told him Itachi wasn't part because Itachi was way above that. But surrounding the circumstances at the time they had this highly confidential meeting, he knew it definitely had something to do with the dead Hyuuga.

_Could it be about the business deal father had with the man before he died?_

Sasuke's cup of coffee was now ready which he didn't waste time to take long sips off. Then something hit him.

_But what about the man's death made it so confidential even Koga who is like father's shadow could not be there?_

* * *

Ko stood there now glaring at Itachi's message.

_How dare he…_

He was about to delete the message when a voice from behind stopped him in his tracks.

"What are you still doing with Hina's phone?"

Ko turned to see Hanabi giving him a look of suspicion.

"Hinata-sama was in no condition to receive the calls and messages flooding her phone yesterday because of news of your father's death that was why I kept her phone for her, Hanabi-sama." Ko explained politely.

But Hanabi still didn't look convinced.

"So you have to also read her messages to see if they were good for her condition, right?" Hanabi asked sarcastically.

"No, actually I…." Ko found himself short of words unable to finish his sentence at being caught red handed with Hanabi waiting for him to finish.

"You can give it to me now. I will keep it for her." Hanabi put out her hand to take the phone.

"Forgive me, Hanabi-sama but I can't."

"Why?" Hanabi asked.

_I can't let her see his messages to Hinata-sama.  
_"It's only right for me to return it to Hinata-sama herself." Ko replied.

"Hm….ok." Hanabi said making Ko relieved until she opened he mouth again.

"HINA! HINAAAA!" Hanabi shouted out for Hinata, alarming Ko.

Hinata came from the kitchen with a questioning look on her face.

"What's the matter, Hana?"

" Ko wants to give your phone back to you, personally" Hanabi said with a blank look on her face. " Oh, and don't worry, you don't have to stress yourself reading your messages because Ko was so kind to read all of them for you." She added still with her blank look not betraying the sarcasm in her words.

But not Ko who looked like he just needed both hands up to have the perfect look of someone caught red handed by a cop. And the way Hinata looked at him with her shocked eyes still hoping what she just heard was a lie, made him feel terrible for having to disappoint her like this.

He gave Hanabi a look.

_Thanks a lot, 'Hanabi-sama'._

He turned to Hinata with an apologetic look.

" Hinata-sama you were not in the right state to receive all those messages and-"

Hinata just walked to him and took the phone to verify something. As soon as she looked at the message on her screen everything made sense to her. She looked at Ko with a hard knowing look making Ko divert his eyes.

Without taking her eyes of Ko, Hinata said.

" Hana could you please go supervise the prepar-"

Before she could finish her sentence Hanabi cut her.

" Just tell me you need me to go. You do not need to beat about the bush." Hanabi said emotionlessly as she already started making her way up the stairs but Hinata felt she was irritated she was treating her like a child.

Hinata watched her sister for sometime with an apologetic look before she turned back to Ko.

" Let's go outside, Ko." Hinata said as she already made her way out. Ko followed reluctantly.

They stood there in uncomfortable silence for Ko before Hinata broke it.

" You did this because of him, right?" Hinata asked without looking at him.

Ko's silence answered her.

" How did he know you had my phone?" she asked.

Ko was silent.

Hinata turned to inquire why but instead of the look of shame he had before, his face had become hard with anger and his clenched fist emphasize that.

Hinata sighed. She should have excepted this. And she understood him. He was the only one who knew about her and Itachi and she knew he having to keep silent and even sometimes cover up for Hinata to see him, an Uchiha, was like pulling a tooth out without local anaesthetic for a Hyuuga like him. It was in the DNA of both Uchiha and Hyuuga to hate each other and for him to actually watch his charge he had to protect associate herself with an Uchiha, the first person he had to protect her from, and even sometimes help her to do so, was against everything he believed in.

" Forgive me, Ko. I know this is something you would never do if it weren't for me." Hinata said soothingly which seemed to smooth out the frown lines on Ko's face.

" No, Hinata-sama I was wrong to have read your messages. I apologize for my inappropriate act." Ko said firmly whiles bowing to emphasize his apology.

Hinata grabbed his shoulders to raise him up to give him a reassuring smile.

" It's fine, Ko."

Eventhough he should be relieved that she had forgiven him, it unsettled him how she was so lenient and and easy to bend to anyones will. That was more reason he didn't want her anywhere any Uchiha much more that particular one. But he knew no matter how much he hated to admit with all his heart, he knew that man made her happy. So when he looked into her sad eyes still grieving from her father's death, he did what he knew would bring some light to her eyes.

" He came here last night...looking for you." he said like it left acid in his mouth.

And like magic, her surprised eyes lit up.

" ...h-he did?"

_Didn't she kill that stutter of her's in third grade? _Ko wondered.

" Yes, Hinata-sama but you were asleep, tired of all the stress of yesterday." Ko explained.

" Oh...so you went to see him?" Hinata asked with wary knowing these two meeting never ends well.

This made Ko almost chuckle.

" Yes. Don't worry Hinata-sama, it was bloodless." He joked to reassure her.

But Hinata looking closely saw something went wrong and it was bothering Ko but before she could ask, he cut in to preventger from doing so.

" At what time do you want to see him?" Ko asked gingerly.

"...You do not have to take me, Ko I can go on my own."

" Forgive me for imposing my will like this but I insist on taking you Hinata-sama." Ko said in a determined tone making Hinata just give up.

" Alright Ko... I know how you are uncomfortable about this whole situation and...thank you for looking out for me, thank you for everything." Hinata said sincerely like he was the best person in the world, like a saint making Ko almost blush.

She had that effect on people.

" I'm going in to make some calls. Excuse me, Hinata-sama." Ko escaped before he embarrassed himself infront of Hinata.

Hinata now left alone let her eager fingers type in a message.

_**This is Hinata. Can we meet?**_

* * *

Koga raised an eyebrow at his master as Fugaku stepped out of his limo with uncharacteristic wide grin on his face.

During his car ride back to work, a realisation hit him that made that just turned his day with a bad start into a great one. He knew how to get Itachi were he wanted him.

Koga walked up to him to welcome him.

" Someone seems happy today. Welcome sir." Koga pointed out even broaden the man's grin.

" Ah thank you, Koga my good friend. I can sense today is going to be such a wonderful day don't you think?" Fugaku said with cheerfulness that did not suit him.

" If you are talking of Hiashi's funeral being today, then I'm sorry to ruin your morning, its actually tomorrow." Koga said.

" Oh, really?" Fugaku asked with mild surprise.

" That's good. This day keeps getting better. I have a day more to prepare to make a gran entrance at the funeral to drop the bomb perfectly on the heads of those Hyuugas. Koga I hope you are done with all I told you to do?"

" Yes Fugaku-sama, we are even ahead of schedule." Koga replied

" Brilliant because somethings have come up that I need you to handle immediately."

" Yes sir, your words are my command."

" Get the names of all the prominent families around specifically those with daughters eligible and fit for an Uchiha." Fugaku ordered earning a look of surprise from Koga.

" I hope for all our sakes, that is not for me." a voice said from behind them surprising both men.

They both turned to see Sasuke behind them in normal office attire but with dark sunglasses on.

" You tarnish the Uchiha name enough with your reckless living. I do not what you to bring our name down completely with a divorce. Let's go, Koga." And with that they both left Sasuke trying to hold his rage.

Eventhough it should relieve him that he is not the one having his marriage arranged, he hated how his father always made him seem like he was a waste of his time. Not one to be regarded or acknowledged. Making him feel like that little boy who always cried from his father's neglect. Sasuke clenched his fist till his knuckles became white.

_When would you ever look at me?_

* * *

_**Remember before her father died he practically signed her life to me and you can do nothing absolutely nothing about me taking everything from her.**_

His father's words run through his head as he sat in his couch all dressed to go out but stuck in his apartment by his father's words. He knew Hinata was now at the mercy of his father and he was going to utilize that to satisfy his everlasting hatred for Hyuugas. And Itachi couldn't let him. He had to find a way to stop him.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket to signal a message. He sluggishly picked it out and brought it to his face to see who it was from.

It was from Hinata.

He was still sceptical as to if it was Hinata herself or Ko. He proceeded to open the message to read.

_**This is Hinata. Can we meet?**_

This made Itachi sit up pleased to finally hear from her.

His finger quickly typed a reply and after sending it he picked up his blazer and car keys and exited his apartment.

_**I'm on my way. Meet me at the usual place.**_

**_.z_**

_I didn't think he would want to meet me this early._

Hinata thought surprised after she read the message.

She informed Ko that she would be leaving soon so he could get the car ready. After she was done dressing in her all black outfit to mourn her father, she joined Ko outside so they could get going but Ko didn't make any move to start the car once they got in making Hinata give him a questioning look.

" Hinata-sama...are you sure you are ok to go out?" Ko turned to her to give her a concerned look.

" I won't be ok either if I don't see him after he came to look for me." Hinata said softly

Ko just sighed and started the engine.

_Why are you trying to lie to me when its very obvious your weeping heart is yearning for his comfort_.

After about an hour and some minutes, they arrived at a deserted house by a big beautiful lake outside all the noise of the city. Itachi's Porsche was parked by the house to indicate he was already there. Hinata stepped out of the car and Ko followed suit making Hinata turn to him.

" I can go on my own from here. Thank you Ko." Hinata said giving him a look that made any objection die on Ko's lips.

He watched her walk away as every step she took made him want to follow the more.

As she got closer she felt her heart thump faster in anticipation. Going around the house she saw the man she was looking for, standing tall and beautiful by the lake as the wind blew his long hair emphasizing the beauty and serenity of the scene. Serenity she hope to have in her mind and heart.

Even the beautiful scenery wasn't enough to keep Itachi's attention. His mind was far away, calculating, analysing and finding any loophole in the web he knew his father was going to ensnare Hinata in. But the only solution that kept hammering in his head, the only way to salvage the problem...was going to be one of sacrifice, a sacrifice that was...

Itachi almost jumped if not for his steely self control when he felt a sudden warmth engulf him from his back. But in a second he relaxed when her sweet flowery scent wafted into his nose. He turned his head so he could see her and couldn't help the smile that graced his lips. She had the side of her face pressed to his back looking seemingly peaceful with her eyes closed and so adorable with her small arms barely able to go round his torso fully with her hugging him from behind. But his smile faltered when he saw the dark puffy circles around her eyes. He tried turning to take a good look at her face but he was held in place with her strong grip surprising him with the strength of her tiny arms.

" Please...lets be like this. I need this warmth...this warmth that gives me this semblance of sanity and peace I am feeling now." her voice was so delicate, at the verge of breaking.

Itachi still against her unwilling arms turned to see her face. Her eyes were closed and and he knew it was to prevent tears from streaming down her face from the way she tremble slightly when she lost hold of him. Itachi felt his chest clench.

_She is never going to survive this...survive what my father has planned for her in this state_.

Hinata hated herself for looking so vulnerable infront Itachi like this. It was just going to get him all worked and worried which would make her even feel worse. She didn't think her emotions would come flooding in on her like this when she comes to see him.

" I shouldn't have come."

And with that she was about to bolt away if not for Itachi's hand shooting out in time to grab her.

" Don't be silly." He scolded her making her already pink cheeks turn almost red.

He turned his back to her and she could just stand there with bulging eyes as he guided her arms to where they previously were around his torso and held them as if to make sure she doesn't leave. And she understood what his actions meant and her heart swelled with how considerate he was.

_If crying on my back without me seeing you makes you feel comfortable, its all yours, but please stay where I can see you. _

That was what he was telling her with his actions. She brought her face to the warmth of his back thawing the coldness the emptiness left inside her. And the evidence of that seemed to be the tears that started running down her face.

" From the way I cried so much yesterday, im surprised I still have it in me to still cry. I'm such a baby you know...even Hana is not crying." she tried to joke but it came out as a sob making Itachi rub her arms to soothe her.

" If he was here he would have made me hear it for crying so much. ...You don't know how much I will gi...give for that." She sobbed out as she pressed herself more into Itachi desperately clinging on to him to numb the overwhelming pain.

Itachi was glad he had his back to her. He didn't know how he would have been able to face her with his whole body ridden with guilt even with his back to her. He could feel ever movement of her since she was pressed so hard to him; her tears soaked in his blazer, her whole body quivering with every sob, and her fingers clutching to him like a drowning man to a straw for his dear life.

Itachi turned to her and suddenly crushed his lips on hers taking her by surprise and silencing her sobs. He kissed her with such intensity and and passion her mind became so clouded she forgot why she was crying and the pain and loneliness inside were numbing. She snaked her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss.

She loved this man. Even the heavens could witness to this great love she had burning inside her for the one man she was forbidden to love. The man she was supposed to hate, was the same man who could just wish away her sadness fears, fill any hole of loneliness in her heart and make her burn with passion in an instant.

Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga empire was irrevocably in love with her mortal enemy, Uchiha Itachi, heir to the Uchiha Conglomerate.

Itachi dug his fingers in her indigo locks as he deepened the kiss to deepen the entrance of his tongue into the delicious mouth some more. In the heat of the moment he opened his eyes to see her were he wanted, totally immersed in the heated kiss with her face all flushed and her eyes closed. The eyes he looked at her with were cold...and dead. He had made his decision.

_Forgive me, Hinata._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello hello my loves. Its been ages i know, so sorry for the delay. I had to get my exams out of the way to write. This is my first chapter of Coffee Girl in 2015 and i want to used this opportunity to thank you readers from those who follow the story: 7thScythe, Chiisai-chan97, Colbalt Sunfire, Divinity-fan, FallenHime, ImCutePoison, Mes Agre'able Reves, MsChifSantos**, **NaviTheGoddess, PsychoticSky, Sachiko Heiwajima, SarcasticSapphire, SarcasticScript, SmartySkittlePants, TheCrimsonAlchemist99, Unique95, aelita444, animefan1809, ,hyuciha, ichirukiluv, kana bluey, korudo, misao97, silent cresecndo, tactics2012, waweemon, x Misty me x**

**the favourite-ers: 7thScythe, Cookie-chan99, Divinity-fan, FallenHime, Lowism, Mes Agre'able Reves, MsChifSantos, NaviTheGoddess, Slayer6nf, SmartySkittlePants, Unique95, ,homjak**, **korudo**, **pIm-ChAn, silent cresecndo, x Misty me x**

**And** **the** **reviewers: Divinity-fan, tactics2012, misao97, FallenHime, x Misty me x, PINKunicorn, Chiisai-chan97, NaviTheGoddess, MsChifSantos and all guesr who sent in their awesome reviews.**

**Thank you all so much for your support and keeping me motivated. Keep the love coming**. **This one long chappie to cover taking such a long time to update. Thanks for reading and enjoy.**

**PS: Divinity-fan, thanx for your review and the great timing of came at a time I was at my lowest. Your review really lit up my dark day.**

**Disclaimer: I ****do** **not own Naruto or its characters**.

**Chapter 3**

_Hinata stood there in an unnaturally rigid stance like she had been hit by something making Itachi worried a moment there._

_He sighed._

_She hated it._

_What was he thinking... that she would like some old-_

_" This place is beautiful!" Hinata gasped gleefully as her huge awestruck eyes took in_ _her environment making Itachi turn to look at her in surprise to check if she wasn't pulling his legs. And her joyful face said it all._

_Itachi had brought her to the old house by the lake for the first time and he couldn't express how happy he was she fell in love with the place at first sight like he did. His eyes watched her fondly as she went all over the place trying to take in the beauty of the place at once._

_Hinata was still blown away by the place. It was like a painting in real life. The greens covering all trace of earth with beautiful and colourful flowers decorating it, surrounding the old house with an antique beauty to it facing a crystal clear breathtaking lake shimmering beautifully as the rays of the sun fell on it and all this away from the chaos and noise of the city, being kept a secret by the tall and huge evergreen trees of the woods...all this was otherworldly. This was like sanctuary,like heaven on earth._

" _Itachi how did you find this?" Hinata asked unable to hide her excitement._

_" I just stumbled across it sometime ago." Itachi said simply making Hinata give him a knowing look at how he liked to give very little details of things before she turned her attention back to the beauty of her surroundings._

_Itachi stood there staring at captivating sight before him. Eventhough he was struck by the beauty of this place he always felt there was something that would make this_ _beautiful picture of paradise complete. And there it was...in the form of this indigo haired beauty giggling angelically as a butterfly landed on her nose tickling her._

_He was awestruck._

_" When I found this place do you know what I told myself?" Itachi asked turning Hinata's attention to him to give him a curious look._

_" What was it?"_ _Hinata asked._

_Itachi stared at her for sometime as if still pondering on what or how to tell her._

...

...

...

_" I told myself I would bring that special person who would give me the same feeling I had for this special place the first time I saw it." Itachi confessed._

" _Oh... I see." Hinata said impressed by his declaration and about his deep romantic side. She cast her eyes down with a forlorn look in her eyes disappointment devouring her heart. She wished she was that per-_

_And that's when it hit her like a ton of bricks._

_She shot her shocked_ eyes to _Itachi's very amused face at her finally getting what his words meant, his eyes saying it all._

_Hinata couldn't move, she couldn't speak. Sheer astonishment and joy had left her frozen and dumbfounded staring at this man, who had just confessed his feelings for her, reciprocating her strong hidden ones._

_Itachi without taking his eyes from the speechless girl approached her._

_" Recklessness is something I have avoided and run away from like a plague all my life...but for the first time, eventhough I wanted to run away from it, I rather found myself always running towards this madness to embrace it." He finally stopped right infront of her, both of them now literally face to face if it weren't for Hinata's height ending just a little over the tall man's shoulder._

_He raised her head gently by the chin so she could see him gaze at her with such intensity as his eyes bore into hers._

" _Am I the only one here who wants to dive in this madness?" his voice had this hint of vulnerability as if he was afraid he was the only one in this madness as he called it._

_Hinata stared at him for sometime before gaining her ability_ to speak again.

_Whatever her answer was, was going to be a crucial one, one that could shatter this beautiful world of theirs and the other was going to shake both their worlds._

_" I...I want to dive in this madness with you, Itachi." she said in a soft unwaveringly voice taking Itachi aback._

_" You know what this means if we-"_

" _Itachi Uchiha, I repeat, I want to dive deep in this madness with you." Hinata cut_ _Itachi this time in a firmer and more determined voice._

_Itachi stared at the woman before him. He didn't expect this answer from her eventhough he prayed for it. He had already resolved in his heart to just tell her of his persistent feeling to lessen its toll on him and end it there. It would have probably made things easier for him to let go. He didn't expect this answer. She knew_ _what all this entailed yet..._

" _Crazy woman." And with that he cupped her face delicately and dug his head down to plant his lips on hers to give her a tender kiss_.

...

...

The kiss that sealed it all.

Their first kiss.

That was some years ago, and that wasn't the only first they had there.

They also made love to each other for the first time here. It was magical and beautiful.

So many beautiful times, beautiful first times that promised forever in this little heaven of theirs...

But under the sun where the natural law rules, there's nothing like forever

And the day had finally come for them to share their lasts...

Itachi deepened the intensity of the kiss, holding her body tightly to his, to feel and savour her completely...

...

like it were his last.

Just then a cellphone started to ring making the two lovers reluctantly tear themselves from each other to check whose phone it was. But Itachi still held unto Hinata so as not to widen the distance between them any further.

It was Hinata's.

She took it out of her pocket to check the caller and unconsciously rose an eyebrow at the caller.

It was Ko.

Hinata instinctively let her eyes scan the area around her for any sign of the man but there was none. She disentangled herself from Itachi's reluctant arms with an apologetic look before raising the phone to her ear to answer it.

" Has something come up?" she intentionally left out Ko's name so as to prevent Itachi from knowing he was the caller.

" Yes, yes Hinata-sama. Your relatives have arrived and are asking for your presence." Hinata heard Ko say through the phone.

" Oh really, then I would be on-" then Hinata paused.

Something wasn't right about what Ko just said.

" If they came and wanted to see me then why didn't they contact me directly to tell me so themselves?" Hinata asked her voice dripping with suspicion.

And there was silence.

" Ko please go back to the mansion to receive them when they arrive. Itachi would bring me. Bye." And with that Hinata cut the phone not wanting to hear Ko anymore...saddened by how her relationship with Itachi was turning Ko into, making her start to distrust the words of someone she trusted with her life.

She felt Itachi's possessive arms circle her torso bringing her to him and nuzzling his nose into her hair. She was quite surprised by how especially tactile Itachi was today, and she loved it. She loved how it took her mind so far from all the pain and chaos she was experiencing in this moment of her life.

She didn't know what she would do if she didn't have Itachi.

A sudden gasp escaped Hinata's lips when Itachi's lips out of nowhere found the sensitive spot just below her ears making her body suddenly catch fire. His hands were sensually rubbing her sides, moving dangerously close to her breast, shooting jolts of electricity up and down her spine.

" I..Itachi?" She breathed out, instead of sounding firm like she intended to.

"Hm?" Itachi just continued his ministrations, seemingly absent minded from the internal battle he was putting her through.

The movement of his hands were becoming more urgent and daring making her heart pound rapidly clouding her head with too much hot blood and making her breathing laboured.

Things were happening so fast and the way they were going if she didn't stop it now, she won't be able to afterwards because her body was already surrendering to his touch.

_they couldn't do this...not now._

" I...I this is not right...I'm still mourning my fathe-"

Before she could complete her sentence, she was spun around and her words were silenced by Itachi kissing her fully on the lips leaving her shocked and breathless in one moment. He held her behind the head and the waist possessively to himself securely to continue is passionate onslaught on her lips, her resolve now a distant memory. Her hands found the front of his shirt, clutching unto it desperately with her overwhelming emotions. Itachi's hand on her waist went sensually lower and other behind her head moving into her hair to massage her scalp, making Hinata moaning helplessly in his mouth in response. Itachi broke the kiss to plant hot open mouth kisses on her neck, licking and biting the soft skin of her delicate pale neck. The pleasure was too much for Hinata, making her moan out his name out loud before she could stop herself. She dug her fingers into his silky locks to push him some more into her neck, to continue his ministrations. His strong hands grabbed her hips to hoist her up, her legs automatically wrapping around his slender hips to secure her. He started to move, taking them towards the lake, his mouth not moving from her neck. When they reached the lake, he disentangle himself from her, setting her down with her head spinning with her raging emotions. Itachi bent down to bring his mouth close to her ear.

" When you are here in this place with me, its just you and me, no room for any negative thoughts. And I'm going to make sure even for this moment you are spending with me, I'm going make you forget it all, forget the ugly reality...and embrace this beautiful dream of ours as much as we can ."

Hinata's breath got stuck in her throat when she heard the sound of her zip being opened from behind by Itachi. Itachi raised his head a little to see the stunned look on her face making him give her an amused smirk.

" Let's go for a swim." he said.

Hinata looked at him with questioning look in her eyes, not expecting what he just said. Itachi chuckled darkly at this as he let his fingers ghostly hover over her exposed skin, raising hairs at his touch.

" You seem disappointed by what I just said." he teased making Hinata blanch.

His eyes then got shades darker as his hands moved into her dress to expose more of her skin and feel their softness, Hinata's heart pounding with anticipation.

" Don't worry. I won't disappointed you." he said in a low husky voice, letting the word disappointed roll sensually on his tongue, Hinata's ears deriving so much pleasure from what it suggested. Her body was trembling with anticipation.

" Ok." her voice was thick and raw, as she looked at him with glazed eyes, not hiding desire.

Itachi gave her a smirk in response as he let her dress fall to the ground, to reveal her beautiful hour glass body clad in nothing but matching lace bra and panties, her smooth pale skin all exposed before Itachi's wolfish dark eyes.

* * *

Sasuke closed the door behind him to Itachi's office as he exited it.

He is still not in. He said to himself mentally to confirm what Itachi's PA had just told him. She gave him an ' I told you so' look making the Uchiha shoot her a look.

" Has he called in to inform you if he was coming?" Sasuke asked nonchalantly.

" No he hasn't, sir." she answered while keeping her eyes glued to her computer screen.

" And does my father know of his absence?"

" Yes sir. He called to check and also sent Koga-san here to check."

Sasuke looked at the woman, whose eyes were glued to her work the whole time. She was strikingly beautiful, with glorious chocolate locks flowing over her shoulders, stunning face with a set of beautiful green eyes and a rocking body to match the whole package. He couldn't bring himself to believe Itachi had never tapped that ass before. Well he had always suspected his brother swung the other way so it didn't come as a surprise seeing his seemingly lack of love life whatsoever. He Sasuke always liked to pick his women outside his workplace, not wanting to mix business with pleasure eventhough he had most of the women here eating from the palm if his hand,but this one was an exception too irresistible to ignore. But she unfortunately seemed not to be under his spell or was playing too hard to get. Like now when she responded to all his answers politely without turning to spare him a glance. It exasperated and turned him on to no end. He walked leisurely to her desk and turned the screen of her desktop effortlessly to face him. Her eyes shot out with surprise which soon turned to a glare. Sasuke just gave her a cocky seductive smirk.

" You make me work my ass off too hard to get your attention, Yoshino." Sasuke said in a mocked hurt tone.

Yoshino was not at all amused by this.

" Sir, please if you do not mind, I have a lot of work to do." She said in a carefully trained voice so as not to let out her growing irritation.

" Well I mind, Yoshino." Sasuke said in low seductive tone.

Yoshino sighed

She was very flattered by all the attention she was getting from someone as awfully good looking as Sasuke, but she knew what he wanted her for. Her body. And that was all. Like all the other men in the office who looked at her like a hungry wolf would look at meat. She couldn't deny she had a thing for him in the past but killed it when he turned his eyes on her. She saw through his lecherous eyes, he saw her as just another easy lay to add to his long list of women. Everyone knew Sasuke was an unrepentant playboy who liked to party hard, using his blessed god like looks to get any woman he wanted.

She sometimes found herself falling for how aggressive he was in pursuing her, but she knew all too well it was all going to be nothing after one night of pleasure. She hated it. She hated how he and all those men never saw past her looks, to see she was also a person, with brains and personality worth more than just a one night stand.

That is why she paid no attention to them, because all she saw was the one man who treated her with respect and like a human being. Itachi Uchiha, her boss.

Since she begun working for him, he never gave her those lecherous eyes his younger brother was giving her now or make a pass at her. It was like he saw her as part of the furniture around. It first surprised her but later, unnerved her because she was unconsciously used to almost every man she encountered wanting her. After she earned his trust, he showed his respect for her intelligence and skills making her help him with some of his work that would seem beyond that of the capabilities of a PA. And that's when her great admiration for him begun and grew as they spent more time together at work. What made it even grow the more to something more than admiration was how he never made an attempt to make sexual advances when they sometimes had to share a room when they went on business trips. He would always give her the bed and sleep on the couch. He always treated her like a lady and she couldn't help her feelings towards him. She knew he was fond of her and trusted her, and that was it. She decided being close to him everyday to be able to greet him every morning to earn a small rare smile in response from him was enough and she wasn't going to let her emotions get in the way of that so she kept them in check to work diligently for him to be able to stay by his side always.

Yoshino continued to fix her glare on the almost younger version of Itachi, who held her gaze equally with lusty cockiness in them.

Just then the phone rang making her give a sigh of relief. She hoped it was Itachi calling to tell her he was coming. She had really missed him.

" Hello." She said after she picked the phone.

" Is he back?" Fugaku Uchiha's voice demanded from the other side.

" No, Fugaku- sama." She raised her eyes to see Sasuke raise an eyebrow at his father's name.

" Inform me if you hear anything from him." and with that the phone went dead but Yoshino had an idea to shake Sasuke off.

" Yes Fugaku sama, Oh Sasuke san-" she stopped when Sasuke gave her a warning look before turning on his heels to leave.

A triumphant smirk danced on her full red lips as she put down the receiver.

* * *

The silence in the car was deafening. The two occupants seemed to have thunderclouds over their heads. Either of them making sure not to have eye contact with other especially Hinata.

They had sex.

Hinata cringed at the remembrance of that fact.

She didn't understand why she even felt emptier and heavier after having sex with Itachi this time.

_was I not supposed to feel better afterwards_?

But she didn't. she felt worse. Eventhough their whole relationship was forbidden from the start, this was the first time she actually felt the forbidden sensation after having sex with Itachi this time...when she was supposed to be mourning her father.

Hinata squeezed her eyes shut tightly to prevent the incoming torrents of tears from escaping infront of Itachi. It would make him feel terrible and that's the last thing Hinata wanted.

But Itachi was in his own world of haunting thoughts to notice Hinata's torment. He knew what he did was wrong. Seducing Hinata into having sex with him, when she was still mourning her father, having not even buried him yet. It was already morally wrong even if it were anyone who did that, but for him, it was a terrible sin, especially knowing very well his father had a hand in her father's death. He knew she would be ridden with guilt when she goes to sleep at the memory of her father and it killed him to put her through so much after what she had on her plate and what she was soon to face in his father's hands...

But...

...he needed that moment, the feel of that moment...for the feel of her softness of her skin, the smell of her intoxicating lavendar scent and her body passionately becoming one with his to remain fresh and etched in his memory...to be able to go through his decision. Itachi soon pulled out at a clearing surrounded by trees close to the Hyuga mansion. The car jerked to a stop, but none of the occupants in the car made any move to step out. Itachi not sensing any movement from his side tore his eyes from his windscreen to his side. He felt something hard hit him in the stomach when his eyes on her face. The guilt was eating her inside out.

But instead of the normal worried sick look he would have in his eyes seeing her like this, he stared at her with unfeeling cold eyes.

_The guilt she is feeling is not...enough_.

_She ought to feel more._

_..._

_..._

_You shouldn't let him see you like this_, Hinata wait until you ge-

" We are here." A monotonous voice jerked her from her thoughts to realize they had reached their destination.

She quickly let her Hyuga genes kick in to form a blank face to hide her inner turmoil from Itachi who had seen it all.

It made him almost laugh.

She turned to him with her shaky mask, giving him a smile so small, as if she feared breaking her face if she made it get any wider, avoiding his eyes.

" Thank you, Itachi. Goodnight." she muttered before turning to open the door to leave.

She went completely rigid when she felt Itachi's hot tantalizing breath tickling her ear with pleasure.

" Aren't you forgetting something?" his low sexy voice was like warm honey on her body. She knew the guilt would come knocking hard on her this time sevenfolds but her body was totally a slave to the sinful pleasure only this man could give her.

And with that, she turned to his warm awaiting lips that could do such wonders to her, those wonders her lips were ever eager to explore as she brought them to his, passion a common language for their urgent lips, kissing and savouring the other like this moment was never going to happen, again. Itachi broke the kiss to see her already flushed face and her eyes glazed with pleasure...just where he wanted her.

" Goodnight Hinata." He said with dismissal in his voice to the girl who seemed to be struggling with her bearings.

She nodded absentmindedly, her hand moving to her door to open it, letting herself out in her daze. Itachi watched his handiwork stumbling towards her mansion coolly till she was close enough to her house before he started his engine, stepping on the accelerator to zoom off...to see his father.

...

Hinata walked lifelessly through the gates towards the mansion, not noticing the numerous foreign cars in her compound. She didn't want to let go of the breath she had held since she left Itachi's car. If she did, she wouldn't be able to reach the front door before she broke down in disgust of herself. It was like she was killing her father all over again without shame and tomorrow, she was going to portray herself as the perfect Hyuga heiress and heartbroken daughter at his funeral after rolling in bed with his greatest enemy's son just the day before his funeral was unforgivable. She felt like the scum of the earth.

" You have finally arrived, Hinata-sama, welcome. Everyone is waiting for you." Ko said as he got out to greet her with confidence as if to refute that he wasn't lying before.

But Hinata stood wordlessly still making Ko concerned.

" Hinata-sama, are you ok?"

...

...

...

" I can't Ko...I can't face them...not now." Her voice was so torn and broken, making Ko get alarmed.

" Hinata-sa-"

" Please...please." Ko paused in his steps towards her at the sight of her tears, falling from her face even as she tried hiding it with her long curtain of her hair, her voice breaking out sobs.

Ko could just stand there awkwardly and alarmed staring at the hyuga heiress breaking down.

_What happened? I thought she was getting better this morning?_

He got over his surprise and walked to her, to raise her head to face him. He cringed at the sight of her torn face drenched with tears.

She was looking worse than before.

He knew it was not appropriate for Hinata as the head of the house to not greet and join the relatives for dinner, but it would be inappropriate if they saw her in this state.

" We will take the back door through the kitchen to your room." Ko said earning a silent nod from Hinata who kept her eyes glued to the floor away from his face.

Ko put an arm around her to support her as they headed to her room.

* * *

The grand hall of the Hyuga mansion currently housed the well known power of the Hyuga pride with the presence of the five Hyuga elders and the other members if the Hyuga clan. The elders all dressed impeccably in their Hyuga robes, their faces set in statuette pokerfaces, without a shred of emotion in their steel eyes as they sat in effortless poise, their backs straight as a rule. Other Hyuga relatives were present in their numbers but the powerful and domineering presence of the five Hyuga elders overshadowed them all; Eito Hyuga, Hironori Hyuga, Hisao Hyuga, Honoka Hyuga and Isamu Hyuga. Hanabi felt like she was going to suffocate in a room with the five elders at once. It was nerve wracking. Their hawk like eyes were pinning her down, scrutinizing the way she wore the traditional robes to make sure it was to highest perfection, making sure her spine was straight as a poker as she sat, watching out for unnecessary movements or fidgeting, any mistakes would attract a dirty look of the millennium.

Hanabi mentally rolled her eyes. She was sure they were even measuring her breath intake to make sure she was doing so appropriately.

_Why dont they tell me to turn to a statue once and for all, geez._

She couldn't wait for all this to be over to get them all packing back where they came from.

Unfortunately, the only relatives she could stomach being around, her cousin Neji and his dad, Hizashi who was her father's twin, were absent. They didn't even know of Hiashi's death because Hizashi took Neji along with him to some mountain in some of the remote parts of the world, to engage in his passion, mountain climbing and excavation. They would have made all this bearable with their presence. She missed them. Another person who would make this bearable in her sister Hinata who speaking of which has gone MIA the whole day.

_Where could she have gone?_

Footsteps were heard descending the staircase making everyone turn to see Ko.

He gave a deep bow before he addressed them.

" My Lords, I'm glad to inform you of Hinata-sama's safe arrival but I'm afraid she won't be able to join us for dinner because she is unwell."

" Unwell you say? Did she not spend the whole day out? Then how is that possible?" Honoka quizzed, scepticism apparent in her voice.

" Well she was not well in the morning but had to attend to something at the office." Ko lied through his teeth trying to control his nervousness under Honaka's intimidating stare.

" Well then how did she get inside?" Eito demanded.

" The lady thought it would be inappropriate to present herself in such a state to you all so she took the back door. She sincerely apologizes she wasn't able to come and welcome you all herself after such a long journey." Ko tried to soothe the displeased Hyugas.

" Does that mean she wouldn't be fit to attend her father's funeral tomorrow?" Hironori inquired.

" If you wouldn't mind my lords, I would like to go and take care of my sister to make sure she is able to attend tomorrow's funeral." Hanabi piped in, giving a bow whiles stating her request.

The elders regarded the young girl silently before giving a stiff nod

" You are dismissed." Eito said with some reluctance.

" Thank you, my elders." Hanabi gave a deep bow before escaping with haste to Hinata's room before they could change their minds.

Honoka turned to Eito with a look of disapproval.

" I still think it was rude of that girl not to come and greet and welcome us. I blame Hiashi for spoiling these girls rotten with no manners in them. He shouldn't have been so proud as to reject my offer to raise them."Honoka hissed." They would have been far better off than this."

" Do not speak ill of the dead, Honoka." Hironori scolded her.

Honoka gave an irritated huff as a response.

.

* * *

" Hina, Hina why won't you open the door? I want to come and take care of you so you get well for tomorrow." Hanabi called out to her sister as she urgently knocked on the door several times without response for the past half hour.

" Hina, I know you are in the there let me in." Hanabi pressed on but no response.

Hanabi sighed.

" You want to be alone, huh?...could you at least give me a sign or something to assure me you would be fine if I leave you alone, for my peace of mind?" Hanabi asked softly.

There was silence again dampening Hanabi's mood.

She was then jolted by the tone of the arrival of a new message on her phone.

**I will see you tomorrow, Hana. Sleep well.**

Hanabi read the message her heart falling at ease, a bit, still with a question nagging her at the back of her mind.

_Is she still crying_?

* * *

In the darkness of the room, a body was curled into a small quivering ball at the corner, her phone abandoned carelessly somewhere in the room after sending a message to her sister.

She couldn't face her sister...she couldn't face them all. The shame was too much.

But the flashes of Itachi taking her kept on popping in her mind persistently as if to punish her. But that was not what even increased her burden of guilt.

It was the feeling those flashes gave her. The fact that upon all the guilt paralysing her, she could still feel the heat of his skin against hers as he took her with so much passion and fire like never before, the power of his sensual urgent movements, the strength of his arms that held her firmly to him, the way her skin ignited at the wake of his kisses, his beautiful eyes gazing at her with such raw desire and love...

She felt it all...

She could taste it on her lips.

And she enjoyed it immensely .

Eventhough it made her feel sick and disgusted at herself, she couldn't stop the strong desire and pleasure she felt at the memory of she and Itachi making love... followed almost immediately by the backlash of shame and guilt at the memory of her father. And she also felt guilty towards Itachi, for feeling guilty after being with him and responding to all the pleasure he gave her. It made her feel like the worst hypocrite on earth. Proclaiming to love him with all her heart without inhibition, yet feeling guillty and ashamed after it all.

_I am unforgivable_.

She was letting the two men she loved and adored with all heart down without shame.

_I_ _dont deserve to love them, I do not deserve to be loved by them._

A bout of tears retraced the trail the ones before them left behind in torrents. Her eyes were hurting from crying too much but the tears won't stop coming.

" I'm sorry father...I'm sorry Itachi." She sobbed out from her sore throat, more fresh tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

* * *

The sound of the sole of his own shoes clicking unto the polished marble floor was all that he heard. He could not feel or hear his heart beat anymore.

_What was there for it to beat anymore?_

And that was his resolution; firm and unmoving.

He had been here, the Uchiha mansion, for quite sometime. The place he grew up and once called his home, was now inhabited by only his father after he and Sasuke moved to their own individual apartments. It was now the stage set for...

He knocked firmly on the magnificent door of his father's study.

" Come in." he heard the voice of his father call out.

He turned the knob to open and reveal his presence to his father who was in an expensive house coat, nursing a glass of red wine, in his plush chair.

" So...the prodigal son finally found his way back home?" Fugaku jabbed at his son as his eyes remained on the glass in his chair.

Itachi closed the door noiselessly before walking to his father's desk.

"May I?" Itachi requested a seat from his father, an indirect way to ask for his audience.

"Hn...so there's still some manners left, or this house is able to bring out your inert Uchiha genes?" Fugaku gave another jab as he motioned for Itachi to take a seat.

He couldn't stop the jabs now that he got Itachi where he wanted. He was trying hard to hold his grin.

"Wine? You look like you need one." Fugaku laughed mentally at that one. He couldn't help himself from giving that line.

Itachi raised his hand to decline the offer. He knew his father was trying to get back at him for this morning and the day before. That didn't move Itachi one bit. He knew how petty his father could be and he was immune to it all.

He knew Fugaku knew why he was here and was sure he had already made preparations towards it. Which he also was well prepared for.

Both Uchiha pinned each other with their intense gaze, to try and catch any weakness whatsoever they could get from other by their gazes which was to intimidate the other. But Itachi was done with games. He was going to cut to the chase. His eyes going a couple of shades darker made Fugaku aware of this.

" Father...lets make a deal."

Fugaku had grinned this wide in a long time at the sound of those words.

...

"I'm all ears, Itachi."

* * *

"Neji nii san and Uncle Hizashi couldn't make it?" Hinata asked in a disapointed tone.

Hanabi nodded.

"Yes Hina. it seems Uncle took poor Neji nii san again with him to the other end of the world, that's why there was no way of contacting them and informing them of the news." Hanabi replied.

"I was really looking forward to seeing them. It would have been really nice." Hinata said wistfully.

"I know right. I really miss those guys." Hanabi agreed.

"I think Uncle Hizashi forgets Neji nii san has a profession to practice and so does he Uncle himself. I guess it comes with old age." Hanabi joked making Hinata for the first time since their father's death give a small laugh in response making Hanabi's heart fill with joy that she was able to hear that beautiful melodious laughter of Hinata's she had heard in a while.

But that was short lived as Hinata quickly reverted back to her distant self. Hanabi gave her a worried look. She was dressed in black Hyuga robes like herself but with dark shades which she knew wasn't to accessorize but to hide her puffy eyes she saw when Hinata had no option but to remove them when she was addressing and apologizing to the elders and relatives for her absence the night before. Even with the unusually heavy make up Hinata wore, it wasn't enough to hide the evidence of her crying the whole night. The swelling of her eyes and the midnight shadow cast under them gave it all out. Now in the limo being chauffeured by Ko to the burial grounds with her alone(which she thanked God for), she still had her dark shades on making Hanabi even more worried.

" Hina?" Hanabi's uncharacteristic tentative voice she used to call her, immediately caught Hinata's attention.

" Is there something wrong, are you ok?" Hinata asked with concern making Hanabi chuckle a little .

_Always putting people's well being before hers._

_"_Thats my line,Hina." Hanabi pointed out giving Hinata a meaningful look.

Eventhough she couldn't see her eyes behind those dark shades, the slight parting of her lips gave Hinata away she was taken back by Hanabi's observation.

She quickly composed herself and flashed her a smile that never reached her eyes.

"Of course. Just that I'm still trying to come to terms with dad's demise,that's all." She assured her little sister.

But she lied.

She wasnt ok. In fact it was just a shred of self control that was holding her together. She was even surprised she could hold herself for this long even when she was infront of her relatives and elders. The guilt and shame gnawing her inside was ever potent and unforgiving but she was able to get herself collected enough this morning to face her duties and responsibilities of a Hyuga heiress, the title she put to shame when she and Itachi...

_No I can't be carried away and let everything blow in my face. Not now._

* * *

Fugaku stared at Itachi with disapproval as they awaited Koga's arrival at the Uchiha mansion.

"I insist you wear the outfit I got you. It cost me a fortune." Fugaku demanded sternly.

"It was never stated in our deal." Itachi stated nonchalantly not sparing his father even a glance.

_I should have._

Itachi looked at anything but his father so as not to hurt his eyes.

Fugaku wore a three piece suit of the finest quality with polished hand made shoes by one of the top shoe makers in the world...all in impeccable white. Tie,shirt,suit,pants,shoes...all brilliant white.

_He looks like a snowman_. Itachi imagined Sasuke saying if he were present.

The irony of someone with a pitch black soul like Fugaku with so much white on him at once, made Itachi's eyes really hurt.

Itachi settled for a dark brown office suit with matching pants, a dark blue office shirt with a wine tie and black polished shoes, his hair in his normal tidy low ponytail, looking regally gorgeous and ready for the office anytime. Itachi actually let himself roll his eyes for all to see when Koga finally walked in. He like his father was draped in nothing but white.

This was just too much for Itachi. He wore his sunglasses to protect his eyes from the harmful rays of their outfit. A man with brown hair and blue eyes dressed sharply in a black suit and matching tie walked closely behind Koga both greeting the Uchihas they came to meet.

"Is everything ready?" Fugaku inquired from his assistant.

"Yes Fugaku-sama." Koga replied with a conniving grin.

Fugaku turned his attention to the man who came in with Koga.

"Ah you must be Daisuke Tanaka, Hiashi's notary for the Hyugas." Fugaku said shaking hands with the uncomfortable man.

"Yes Uchiha-san." The man replied curtly.

"I presume you are aware of the 'recent' occurrences and resulting 'changes',Tanaka?" Fugaku asked with a sly grin on his face.

Daisuke closed eyes sighing heavily.

"Yes." he replied gingerly.

Fugaku grinned triumphantly in response.

"Good. Then shall we?'

* * *

Only relatives and very close family friends were allowed to attend the funeral and tight security was there to ensure that and prevent the intrusion of the media. The Hyuga funeral rites were already performed, the Hyugas praying for Hiashi for his safe journey to the other side.

But there was something different with Hanabi, directly after they had filed round her father's body in the casket. He was dressed in grand expensive Hyuga robes befitting the former head of the clan,lying in the pure silver casket with a peaceful look on his face. His now almost white skin reminded Hanabi of vampires(making her feel silly), but unlike them, he was not waking up, like she had expected the last time she saw him like this. That's when she felt the chill of realisation run down her spine.

She wasn't going to feel his powerful protective presence wrap around her anymore, she wasn't going to hear his deep clear domineering voice she secretly loved and she wasn't going to be able to look into his eyes just to catch the occasional flicker of warmth that passed through, that never failed to give her the warm tingling feeling she loved.

He was really gone.

Hanabi sat unnaturally still the whole time. At this moment she knew anything could trigger the volcano of emotions burning inside her to erupt before them all and she knew it would make Hinata's waterworks look like a joke.

She wished her father had been around long enough to teach her what to do when he was gone.

It was now time for reading the tributes. All the proceedings went as a blur for the unstable girl, who channelled all her energy into keeping herself still,a losing battle as time went on and so was her control.

Same could be said about her elder sister who at least had sunglasses to barricade the onslaught of tears threatening to spill from her eye lids. People went up the podium, close friends and relatives,describing her father with all the good and dignified words in the book,making her ask herself:

_Did they ever tell him to his face all these wonderful words about him when he was alive? Did they make him feel like the words they are using to describe him?_

_Would these words have prolonged his life if he was alive to hear them?_

_Were these _words_ even real?_

They didn't even know him or wanted to in the first place. They just viewed him as the man up the pedestal to hold the banner bearing the Hyuga name up high.

_But didnt they know it was cold and lonely up there in the sky away from everyone else?_

_But who am I to talk?_

_At least they had some amount of morals and discipline, unlike me the flesh of his flesh and blood of his blood,killing and trampling over the great Hyuga name he had worked hard to lift up to higher heights from where his predecessors left it._

No,she didn't feel guilty about loving Itachi, or all the wonderful times she spent with him,giving him her whole heart,soul and body,she never did and never will. But what she felt guilty for was not honouring and respecting her father's memory just to give in and succumb to carnal pleasure without hesitation whatsoever. she was just lucky the guilt had kicked her so many times the whole night such that she was getting used to its abuse.

"Now let's hear the tribute from his lovely daughters." Hinata's head snapped to one of her distant uncles who was MCing the funeral, to see him beckoning for her and Hanabi to come.

She gingerly turned to her sister to tell her to join her but her brows with worry and confusion etched in them when she saw the unusual look on Hanabi's she couldn't quite describe.

"Hana?" she called out but Hanabi seemed too deep in her own world to hear her,seeing her lack of response.

Hinata reached out and put a gentle hand on her sister's shoulder. Hanabi responded to this by almost jumping from her skin at the contact,finally being brought back to reality at her sister's touch. She looked at Hinata with confusion and some bewilderment in her now wide eyes.

"What?" She blurted out like she had been caught doing something wrong.

"Is something wrong, Hana?" Hinata asked with concern.

Hanabi shook her head with unnecessary vigour to vehemently refute that.

"No no no. I'm perfectly fine." She also answered too quickly.

Hinata would have pressed on if there was time but everyone was waiting for them.

"Ok its our turn to give our tribute." Hinata announced to Hanabi.

"Oh? Hanabi said as she robotically stood as Hinata did,all of a sudden overwhelmed by all the eyes on her,something very uncharacteristic for someone as bold as herself in public.

Hinata saw her hesitation and tenderly took Hanabi's hand into hers,giving it a soothing squeeze which seemed to work the magic to curb her anxiety by a wide mile. She gave Hinata a nod to tell her she was ready, to which Hinata led them both to the podium.

If Hanabi's thought were not so disoriented,she would have felt the trembling of Hinata's hand as she held hers. It was a well known fact that speaking in public was not one of Hinata's strong points, even made worse by her own everlasting guilty thoughts to tackle.

_I shouldn't be here._

She said to herself as she took in the awaiting eyes on her,waiting for her to also decorate her father with all the great words she could think of. She looked down on the tribute prepared for her to read out, made up of words with no heart and soul. She then remembered one of her father's rare smiles washing her with warmth and lightening the darkness and heaviness in her heart. It then made her realise it was her duty to let them know who her father,Hiashi Hyuga,was;a father who eventhough had difficulty showing it,loved his daughters genuinely from the very bottom of his heart, that love eventhough would be crushed and greatly dismayed by what she had done,would at the end of it all would make him want her to forgive herself.

A single tear of relief and gratitude run down Hinata's cheek.

_Thank you,father._

With renewed determination and courage she faced her awaiting audience,not sparing the already prepared tribute for her a second glance.

"Everyone knew Hiashi Hyuga as one of the greatest Hyuga that ever walked this earth. A perfect representation of whatever you would want to find in a true Hyuga. Someone who accomplished great feats and set such great standards that seem almost impossible to overcome. A model for future Hyugas to emulate. That's what everyone knew him as,a force to be feared and reckoned with. But the question we should ask ourselves is...was that all he was capable? Was that all he truly was?...No. As impossible as it sounds, he was capable of more. He was capable of love,love my sister and I feel blessed and fortunate to experience, a father's true love, that wrapped us with warmth and protection no one could ever give. And that's what to me makes him truly the greatest Hyuga that ever walked the surface of the earth." The whole place was silent after Hinata's speech. She didn't know what they thought of it and could careless. But she was damn proud she left them speechless. She flashed them a confident and satisfied smile. She turned to tell her they can go back to their seats,but got the words stuck in her throat at the sight of her sister.

"...Hanabi?" Hinata in her shocked state called her without shortening her name.

"Uh huh?" the girl blurted out.

"You...you are crying." Hinata said like it was ridiculous in her state of shock.

Hanabi scrunched her eyes at the ridiculousness of how it sounded.

"I'm crying?" Hanabi brought her hand to her face instinctively to confirm this, and was thrown aback by the wetness she felt at her touch.

" I'm crying?" she looked at the wet evidence in shock.

_I am crying and did not realise it?_

_That explains my blurred vision at the moment._

Hinata's words had struck chords so deep in her heart, where her father was. She could remember how he would come to her room from work late in the night thinking she was asleep, to tuck her in to bed and whisper goodnight to her, the pride she witnessed in his eyes when he watched Hinata take her certificate at the graduation,graduating with honors.

Words didn't matter,his actions spoke for him.

Actions she wouldn't see anymore.

Hinata cupped her face and wiped some of her tears off her face giving her an understanding look.

"Well you win. Hanabi finally had her waterworks." Hanabi shrugged still trying to look cool and nonchalant.

Hinata giggled at how pathetic her effort looked.

"Oh c'mon, Hina why are you trying to steal my shine?" Hanabi also reached out to wipe the tears that escaped Hinata's eyes as she giggled,emphasising her point.

They gave each other a meaningful look.

They missed their father.

Honoka rolled her eyes at the sisters' display.

"For crying out loud,couldn't they wait till they get to their rooms to do this.' She said scrunching her face in disgust.

"Hiashi was too soft on these girls. They are clearly lacking in the strict Hyuga upbringing. That was a failure on his part." Isamu added earning a strong nod of agreement from most of the elders.

* * *

They all gathered round the freshly dug out grave, to watch Hiashi Hyuga finally being lowered to his grave,signifying their final farewell to him from this world. The casket took its slow descent down the awaiting felt herself being lowered in the grave with him. She looked around the cemetery with gravestones everywhere.

_The person inside the casket was my father,my father being lowered into a grave,soon going to sealed away from her forever with a tombstone on his soon to be grave,a constant reminder of his death._

It was too painful to take in. Too much to take it in. She couldn't make this happened.

"Stop!" She blurted out urgently.

A force she wasn't aware she possessed propelled her so close to the grave,everyone froze in alarm at her actions.

"Hanabi,what is the meaning of this?" Eito boomed in shock.

Hanabi begun to tremble, all the pent up emotions begun to take over and overwhelm her body,the tears already raining down her face without restraint. Hinata could she stand there frozen in it all.

"He cannot be dead! We have to get him out of there,he cannot be dead!." Hanabi screamed out desperately in a quivering voice.

"Enough of this foolishness, child." Hisao scolded.

Hanabi spun around to face Hinata,looking so frantic and desperate.

"Hina,tell them. He cannot be dead,right?" she searched her sister's eyes desperately to agree with what she was saying, to show them all what she was saying was not nonsense.

Ko's warning of Hanabi inability of showing her emotions previously rang loud in her head aloud. It crushed her heart to see her little sister like this and to put her through even more by being the one to open reality's door to her. She closed her eyes with sorrow,tears streaming down her face.

"He's gone,Hana,daddy is gone." Hinata broke reality's news tearfully to Hanabi,the words turning to daggers and stabbing Hanabi in heart from different sides,frozen still where she stood, hot fresh tears cascading down her face. Without a word she slowly turned back to the casket, and the look Ko was able to catch from her eyes made him see what was coming.

"No!"

Hanabi took a bold step forward and all of a sudden jumped. She was throwing herself unto the casket. Before she could make her destination, she was caught midair by Ko's strong arms holding her by the torso securely.

And then Hanabi was uncontrollable. She writhe and struggled wildly against his arms to escape his clutches like she was possessed.

"Let go! Let go of me!" Hanabi cried out in a voice so raw and feral. Some men who were able to get over their shock to help Ko hold down the wild girl. Having all her movements restrained,she completely broke down to tears,wailing and screaming incoherent words at the top of her lungs.

The other Hyugas could just stand there in utter shock at the inconsolable girl. Never had they witness such an emotional outburst by a Hyuga in public like this, much more it being Hanabi, who was known for how collected she was and being often praised for having such steely self control of a Hyuga more so than her older sister.

Words couldn't describe the agony Hinata was going through watching the tear jerking sight of her little sister loose it and having to be held by three men to successfully hold her down,now screaming and yelling for their father. Even some Hyugas found their eyes brim with tears watching the pitiful girl.

Hinata willed her frozen legs to move to her sister.

_She needs me._

She held Hanabi's face in her hand so she could look at her,but Hanabi's eyes were so distant and unfocused to her sister right infront of her. Hinata was still determined to reach out to her sister.

"Hana, look at me. Look at me. Dad is at a better place now, where he can watch over us and protect us like he has always done." Hinata said in a soothing voice trying to reach out to her.

It seemed to work as Hanabi's eyes to now focus to see Hinata before her making Hinata begin to be filled with hope that she was getting somewhere.

"Mum?" all Hinata hopes came crushing to the ground at Hanabi's words.

Hanabi just called her...their mother. Hanabi couldn't recognise her anymore.

This made Hinata's worry get to a whole new level. Things were getting worst with Hanabi by the second and she was beginning to lose hope in getting her back.

But her sister needed her. If she couldn't pull her from this abyss she was falling into, then no one else here could. She had to do her best to-

Out of nowhere, Eito appeared behind Hanabi.

"That would be enough." He raised his hand to push a pressure point on Hanabi's neck,instantly shutting her system down and rendering her unconscious in the arms of the men holding her.

Hinata stood there in shock at how it happened so fast.

"Take her back to the mansion." Eito commanded Ko.

Eventhough Ko was unsettled about how Eito took things,he silently nodded did as he was instructed,carrying the unconscious girl away.

"Some order ought to be enforced around here beginning from now." Eito declared firmly earning nods of agreement from his fellow elders.

...

...

...

" You shouldn't have done than to Hanabi." Everyone turned in shock to the source of the voice that spoke out to challenge Eito,to see Hinata fix him with a cold angry stare.

"What?" Eito blurted out in his surprise.

Hinata felt her blood boil with rage not caring whoever Eito was. What he did to her sister to her was unacceptable.

"You had no right to do that to her!" Hinata yelled at the elder who was too dumbfounded by what was happening.

Hinata was grabbed and spun around harshly, to meet Honoka's furious eyes.

"Have you gone mad,girl?! Who do you think you are speaking to like that,huh?!"Honoka hissed at Hinata.

Hinata yanked her arm from her grasp making Honoka gasp in shock. Hinata stared defiantly at her.

"He is an elder, an elder who should be the first to know it is wrong in all standards to use Hyuga body arts on another Hyuga more a descendant of the main family who is supposed to be protected with those arts." Hinata countered back fiercely.

Now all the other elders joined in the confrontation.

"We watched you and your sister conduct yourselves so shamefully throughtout your own father's funeral,disrespecting all elders and relatives present here and most of all making a mockery of your father's memory and the good name of main house." Honoka lashed out." I shuddered to think of the great scandal this would have caused if we had invited our important business associates and the press."

Hinata bristled with anger at Honoka's words.

"Because I didn't read that tribute full of empty words about my father, I am shameless? Because I showed you all the true Hiashi Hyuga you have been trying to hide and oppress, so I made a mockery of his memory? Because a daughter cries out for her father, you knock her out. What kind of people are you?"

"How dare you?!"

All the elders growled in fury at about to advance on her when they were stopped at the sounds of blades propelling from above. All eyes looked up to see a black helicopter about to land on a clearing in the graveyard. It bore the name Uchiha and as soon as their eyes caught this, the Hyugas instinctively bore their teeth out with venom already concentrated at the tips of their tongues.

"Could things get any worst?' What are the likes of them doing here?" Eito voice dripped with deep resentment as he along with his clansmen watched the helicopter make its landing, the blades slowing to a halt as the engine was killed. The pilot and his companion at the front who were bodyguards got down to open the passenger door to reveal what the Hyuga saw as a slap to their face.

Alighting from the helicopter was the head and leader of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku Uchiha, dressed in all white to the funeral. To add more insult to the injury, his assistant Koga also came out dress in the same manner as his boss. All the Hyuga could see was red. They were mad, furious at Fugaku's audacity to make a mockery of their former leader's funeral and were already advancing towards them,the bodyguards sensing the danger stood before them.

Hinata remained where she was, struck where she stood with her heart pounding wildly when she saw who appeared next from the helicopter making his way down to the ground with such grace only he could muster.

Itachi...

Her thoughts were disoriented not knowing what to make of seeing him here like this. She was happy to see him at the same time scared to see him infront of her agitated clansmen,scared for his safety before them and their homicidal wrath incited by his father.

_What is he doing here?_

She then saw a very familiar man who just joined Itachi on the ground from the helicopter,surprising her.

_Mr. Tanaka? What is he doing with them?_

Fugaku grinned widely at the furious expressions on the faces of the Hyugas especially the elders. It was priceless .

"Ah its so refreshing seeing such rare colourful expressions on your usually stone faces...Hyugas." Fugaku sneered at them.

"If you know what is best for you, you would go back from the hole you came crawling from, Uchiha. To be forwarned is to be forarmed. We won't be responsible for what happens to you if you refuse to leave." Eito growled through clenched teeth in a tightly controlled voice." You are not welcomed here!"

Fugaku gave a roar of laughter.

"You know...I would treat me better from now on if I were you, in fact, you should be refering to me as Fugaku-sama, how about that?" He mocked inciting even more of the Hyugas' wrath.

"Someone call for security to drive this man out. We wont stand for a mere Uchiha to stand before us and spit contempt in our face at a sacred ceremony like this!" Eito boomed, his control slowly slipping away.

Fugake laughed some more.

"Sacred ceremony you say? I bet you would take that back with haste after you see the size of the grave Hiashi dug for all of you before he died."

This took the elders aback.

"What is he talking about?' Hironori asked sensing Fugaku, had something up his sleeve from the suspicious words he just uttered.

" Mr. Tanaka? Its a surprise to see you here like this." Hinata stepped forward all eyes turning to her. She was trying the impossible to keep her eyes from wandering to Itachi like they were dying to do, to not let their families suspect a thing.

As soon as Fugaku's eyes fell on her, his eyes widen a fraction with something passing through them for a second, before they narrowed with a darker shade of resentment. He instinctively turned his eyes just in time to see Itachi turn his eyes away from him to regard Hinata with a careless look wiping the frown he had on his face with a grin when he bristled at the thought that Itachi had seen 'that'.

Daisuke Tanake looked nervously at the girl, before looking at Fugaku beckoning him to talk. He gave a very heavy sigh.

"I am here to hand over your father's last will and testament."

Hinata scrunched her face in confusion.

"Isn't that supposed to be dine after the funeral in the mansion?" She asked.

"Something has happened that has called for this, my dear." Daisuke said in a dreadful voice washing Hinata with bad chills.

"What's going on here?" Hisao asked appearing beside Hinata

"Mr. Tanaka here is my father's legal advisor and good friend, and his is serving as the notary supposed to read out my father's will to us." Hinata explained whiles Daisuke opened his briefcase to take out some documents .

"If he is your father's lawyer then, what is he doing with them?" Hisao asked not liking the situation.

Daisuke handed a file to Hinata.

"This is your father's will and testament. But could you please first verify if the signature at the bottom of the page truly belongs to your father."

Hinata did as requested opening the file and nodding her head when she was done checking .

" Yes it is my father's."

Daisuke sighed heavier this time at Hinata's response, hanging his head in dread, and Hinata did not like any of this at all.

" Please go ahead and read." Daisuke said gingerly killing any enthusiasm for Hinata to do so.

But she proceed to open it wide enough for both Hisao and her to read when she felt his impatient eyes on her.

Both Hyugas stood unnaturally still for several minutes, reading re-reading the contents of the file, with their faces frozen and heavy with shock, unable to believe what they were reading.

"H-Hinata, is that...is that truly your father's signature?" Hisao wriggles to form words to ask his question in his state of total shock.

Hinata nodded her head dreadfully losing alll ability to talk at the moment.

The other elders seeing both Hyugas turn ghostly pale after reading the contents of the file grew alarmed and drew nigh.

Honoka took the file from Hinata's frozen hands for she and the other elders to see what was causing their frightening reaction. After long minutes of reading it, their expression also mirrored theirs.

"W-what...what is the meaning of this?" Honoka asked, too shocked to the bone to be able to grasp the reality of what she had just read.

"What this means is that everything, everything under Hyuga Hiashi's name as the head of the Hyuga clan, the entire Hyuga Empire including its fortune, now belongs to the Uchihas." Itachi stepped forward speaking in his crisp cool voice for the first time since they arrived, pulling Hinata's bewildered eyes to him before she could stop herself .

All the Hyugas froze at the unbelievable news.

" This is impossible. Even if he was without his senses, Hiashi would never do something like this." Hironori countered vehemently."It is something these fraudsters have cooked up to make a mockery of us."

Hinata's wide eyes remained fixated on Itachi, pleading to tell her its all a like, but he just gave her a stone cold look making Hinata confused.

" My father...my father only came to your place to just sign some papers for the partnership for the oil drilling business both companies wo-"

"Your father did.. what ?" Honoka shrilled in surprise .

"Oh you great elders didn't know of the partnership Hiashi wanted to establish between the Hyugas and Uchihas?" Fugaku asked in mocked shock.

All the elders looked at Hinata shock.

" Hiashi formed a partnership with the Uchihas?" Hironori asked Hinata who gingerly nodded confirmed their worst nightmares.

"No this cannot be happening,this cannot be...what in the world possessed Hiashi to do business with no one other than, the Uchihas?!" Hisao cried out in horror.

" What is this great abomination has your father committed?" Isamu asked Hinata with great dread and disappointment .

Hinata's tongue was too heavy to form a reply. She was too light headed and astonished to understand what was going on. This was not her father. Her father could never do this to clansmen he cherished so much. She remembered all those times he would come late after midnight from work only to continue in his study throughout the night. To make all his sleepless nights and toil go down the drain by his own hand just didn't make sense.

Her eyes found Itachi's, searching for for her last hope in this thick deep mess.

"Ita-Uchiha san, please put yourself in my shoes, after watching your father work so hard and tirelessly to make your empire acheive greatness at its best, would it make sense for him to sign all away to his...to his greatest competitior?" She hesitated with the last words to be able to find the right words to say, looking up in his eyes, to find the man whose love for her he always made to shine in the very depths of his eyes,with pleading eyes to communicate to him how she was in dire need for his help.

But he gave her a cold blank look in response making Hinata begin to get confused.

"For an heiress, I can see you are quite ignorant about the dealings in your family business you were hoping succeed." Itachi's words was like a sharpened double edged sword, impaling Hinata mercilessly in the heart.

She couldn't believe those sharp and biting words just came from those lips that ravished hers so passionately with kisses that promised his undying love for her some few hours ago.

His eyes,the way he stared at her so dispassionately, his body language so cold and distant...if all this was an act before his father and her family, he was doing a marvellous job because she was really getting deeply hurt by it all.

"Itach-"

"Your father owed us a lot of money and was trying to use the partnership to pay us back. In fact it wasn't actually a partnership as he was trying to make it seem; it was basically an agreement he made with us to use the profit he generated from the oil business to pay us. But he didn't have the needed capital to start the business,and we were not willing to lend him anymore money. So with no more options he signed a contract that stated that within a stipulated period of time if he was not able to pay us, all his businesses would become ours." Itachi announced shocking the Hyugas with the horrifying news.

"We...we were broke?" Isamu asked.

Fugaku grinned in response.

"And he had no better timing to die,right?"

His words shook Hinata from her shock to give him a fierce look.

"Please, watch how you talk about my father, Uchiha san." Hinata warned gravely.

Fugaku threw her a dirty look about to lash out at her when Itachi stepped in between them, fixing Hinata with a frightening death glare making her stagger back in fear.

"Sane goes for you, Hyuga san." He snapped harshly at her in pure disdain, the shock almost knocking the air out of her.

Hinata felt her head spin.

_Does Itachi have a twin I do not know of?_

The man before her was a carbon copy of the man she loved, but he could not be the same man who held her so possessively in his arms and made hot passionate love to her yesterday, the same man who was willing to go against the hatred of both their families to reach out to her in the name of the great love he had for her, to form this beautiful love they had for each other...

It hurt her head and heart too deeply to be believe this cold unfeeling man before her was her Itachi.

He had the same perfect planes of his beautiful face, the same characteristic red tint in his dark eyes, the same alluring signature pine fragrance of his, yet she couldn't feel the soul of the Itachi she loved in him at all.

She didn't understand what was going on but, her heart was beating and hurting like crazy by the minute.

She blinked away the tears stinging her eyes away and took a bold step closer, breaching his personal space not caring who was present or who was watching.

With determination she peered into his piercing cold eyes, not letting its iciness in them shake her from holding his gaze.

"Itachi...please...What is all this you are saying coming from? What's happening...why are you like this?" She almost sobbed out in a soft vulnerable voice almost a whisper, only to be audible to Itachi.

...

He let his cold eyes pierce through her for sometime before he took an intimidating step closer into her personal space,almost making her stagger back if it were not for her steely determination holding her in place. He bent down so he was at eye level with her, his hot breath fanning her face almost intimately if they weren't in such a grave situation as this.

"Unlike you who seemed to have only aimlessly walked around your father's company, I am always present at all important business meetings such as that of your father's. If it makes you feel better to know...he took my pen to sign your whole lives to us." Hinata could hear her world crumble around her, a tear sliding down her cheek at painful slap of his words in the face of her broken hope.

_Itachi...Itachi knew all along?_

Then his eyes narrowed intensifying the darkness and venom in his glare.

"And...never refer to me so casually, Hyuga san."

**Thanks for reading. Reviews please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys, I am back again with a looong chappie. Trust me this one is long. I am staring my exams soon so I might be MIA for a while. This chapter was quite challenging to write as finding the right words that would be effective execute the idea to be portrayed became difficult. Anyways thanks so much for your awesome reviews you guys really know how to keep me writing.**

**I want to thank:**

**Chiisai-chan97: I can see you are all about the intensity I'm glad this story gives you those feels.**

**MsChifSantos: I'm happy you are enjoying this story. You really amuse me with how you are all out for Fugaku's head in this story. Haha. Hope I can make your wishes come true soon.**

**FallenHime: Huge Sasuhina fan yet having a guilty pleasure for itahina. You really got me swollen headed there. Lol.**

**NaviTheGoddess: it's really good to see you following this story and taking your time to review. You really know how to make a writer wanted.**

**tactics2012: I hope this chapter somehow answers your question of what our dear Itachi is going to do. We all know how sacrificial Itachi can get.**

**misao97: (WHY ITACHI WHY?! I KNOW YOU STILL LOVE HER! WHY MUST YOU ALWAYS MAKE YOURSELF THE BAD GUY?! ) It almost seems you have Itachi right in front of you and you are giving him the scolding of his life, hehe. Just shows how much you are into the story.**

**rcr: I'm glad you want to read more.**

**x Misty me x: the huge sasuhina converting into an itahina believer, lol. Sorry if I play a part in this dilemma of yours *grinning mischievously***

**PINKunicorn: thanks for the correction.**

**Milkshakecat200: I just looked through the story abd realised my note for you didnt appear. Sorry about that and i hope you see this. Now to the note: I mist say you had me blushing madly at your review about my writing and all. Im glad you like my story and writing.**

**Divinity-fan: oh my where do I start with you, hehe. The way you have sank your teeth into this story is just wow, words fail me. Reading your reviews is a joy as I can't see a writer who would get reviews like yours and is not moved to start writing the next chapter. You are so emphatic about your sentiments and perception about the characters and even Ocs, wow, how you just don't read but absorb every detail of the story and how you crave for more is just exciting. I'm so glad a got someone like you to read and love my story. You are every writer's dream reviewer really know how to make a writer feel appreciated.**

**PS: about the sadist thing…_how did you know?_ You really cracked me up with that one. Can't stop laughing.**

**And to the guest reviewers, gosh how I wish I could each of you by your individual profile names and show my appreciation. You guys really give great reviews thanks so much.**

**You guys are the best. Chapter 4. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.**

**Chapter 4**

So much had happened.

So much had happened in such a short time she couldn't even focus on one to entertain at a time to torment her. In this moment she would have been grateful if she could have the luxury to even do just that. All she had done the days that had passed since her father's funeral was to sit around and do nothing, unable to put herself to do anything as the problems she did not have the luxury to even stress about at a time kept nagging at the back of her mind to remind her of its omnipresence in her life with its promise of pure misery when she was finally grounded enough to do so eventhough it had not yet started its torture. At least the nagging made her know she was still amongst the living and she hadn't fully turned into a zombie yet.

She was to meet the elders and discuss some important issues, as they had put it, after breakfast and as such was dressed formally in a simple formal knee length dress with short sleeves in black as she was still mourning the death of her father and with her hair pulled back in a high ponytail. Breakfast was going to be in about an hour's time but Hinata was already dressed sitting on her bed as she had finally gotten tired of just morbidly sitting around as time and space pass her by and as such needed to do something to make her feel somewhat alive. She even took the liberty to use more make up than her usual just to entertain her dull mind. She had to admit she was quite surprised upon her complete absence from the table since her father's funeral, the elders had still not already barged into her room and dragged her out to reprimand her for her 'rudeness' and 'gross disrespect'.

_Maybe this was their idea of how to express the feeling of consideration and comfort_. She shrugged.

But now she was done and still ended up sitting on her bed staring into space again. Another thing she had to admit was that in this state of hers even though she felt the nagging of the existence her tortuous thoughts whose effects they were yet to manifest, in this lifeless state of hers, she felt nothing. Nothing got to her. Not the tons of problems trying to bang their way into her head. Not the things happening around her. Nor the responsibilities she had even forgotten she had. She was immune to it all. In this vacuum were time or space never reached her.

She had received the results of her father's autopsy the day after the funeral, but it still remained on her bedside table where she left it the day she received it, untouched and collecting dust. In all the days that had gone by, she had tried several times to open the envelope and read its contents but each time she gave up, afraid whatever was in the envelope would break this sanctuary of numbness she was in, where no pain could touch her.

And with that she realised something she had avoided admitting this whole time.

She enjoyed being like this, being in this state of nothingness, frozen in time and space. Because it was safe, proof being upon everything that had happened, throughout the days that had passed after the funeral, she had not shed even a single tear. And this was why she hadn't till now opened her father's autopsy that she had demanded to have with immediate effect. That was why she had not been able to confront the situation with her sister who had not left her room nor spoken a word since the funeral. She always asked how she was faring from Ko when came to her room to do his frequent check-ups on her but when pushes herself to go to and see Hanabi, she was never able to stay long, always making sure her visits were when the girl was asleep.

And that's when she realised how selfish she had been all this time. To protect herself from all the pain and agony of all that had happened, she abandoned the quest to finding out what actually caused her father's death altogether and she let her little sister to suffer alone. When the memory of her sister's uncontrollable state at the funeral flashed through her mind in that moment, for the first time in the days that passed she felt something crawl up her heart and brutally rip at it at the heart wrenching memory and after a long time of their absence, tears brim her eyes again.

Hinata felt terrible. She didn't know how she made things get like this. It was like after the funeral time stopped for her.

No. That was not it.

To be more accurate, time and space stopped after…

**_"Unlike you who seems walk ignorantly in your father's company, I am present at all important business meetings, like that with your father. He took my pen to sign all these documents." _**

**_Then his eyes narrowed increasing the intensity of his glare._**

**_"And do not refer to me so casually, Hyuga."_**

_…Itachi._

At the thought of his name, she felt her heart jerk hard against her rib cage as if it just came back alive, but now every beat of the heart pumped pain to every cell of her body.

She shut her eyes to prevent any tears from falling out as she clutched hard unto her bed sheets to try and calm the intensity of pain somehow. This was the reason why she shut out her emotions because she knew the pain would break her like it was doing now. Most of her pain was borne from her deep confusion of what happened between her and Itachi at the funeral and at the same time that same confusion was what was keeping her from completely breaking down.

She just couldn't believe that cold heartless man before her at the funeral, was the same man who was willing to go against generations of hatred and bad blood between their families just to be with her, the same man who would allow her, of enemy blood to touch his heart, the same man who made passionate love to her just the day before the funeral.

It didn't make sense and the more she tried to make sense of it, the more she felt her head and chest want to explode. But if she didn't, she felt like she was going to go insane.

It all felt surreal, like a horror movie of her worst nightmares starring the beautiful soulless man who looked painfully similar to the man who never failed to let her know how much he adored her, mostly through his eyes and actions, now stabbing her cruelly in the heart with his words and his cold piercing eyes.

This man before her who was a carbon copy of the man who in many ways made her know of his love for her, had soulless eyes that looked like they were incapable of love and his heartless actions and harsh cold words reflected that.

The man she loved was not capable of looking at her with so much spite and spit so much venom at her. That was what she was trying to believe and convince that all that happened was just a nightmare that never happened, but the chill that run through her spine eliciting goose bumps on her skin at the remembrance of how frightening his stone cold eyes were as they gave her the death glare straight from the fiery pits of hell with the potency of killing her a million of lifetimes to come, knocked her hard with reality that it actually happened.

_But why? _

She couldn't think of any reason why Itachi would treat her like he actually despised her with a passion.

_Was it because his father and my family were present?_

**_"Unlike you who seems to walk ignorantly in your father's company, I am present at all important business meetings, like that with your father. He took my pen to sign all these documents." _**Those cruel words carried by his signature deep voice rang through her head again.

_ But would he go that far to say something as grave as this just because our families were around?_

She remembered how Itachi never failed to voice out how he wished this feud between their families could be over so that he could love her properly and not do so like a criminal, so that he could finally let the whole world know, let whatever suitors with the intention of pursing her know and their families know she was his woman.

_So why would the same person purposefully antagonise people he wished to be at peace with?_

_It all didn't make sense at all._

And the fact that all that he said about the business deal between her father and his father was in such impeccable detail also gave room for her questioning if what he said about being present at the final meeting was not a lie as she desperately wanted to believe.

By this time her head was all jumbled up by all these questions that she couldn't answer but that didn't seize the throbbing pain in her chest.

If she stayed here like this in this room for a second longer the room would actually swallow her whole with madness.

Like she was possessed she all of a sudden shot to her feet and let her feet lead her out of the room. Her alert eyes scanned the area for any soul around but it seemed everyone was somewhere busying themselves giving her the perfect opportunity to sneak her way out. Carefully and noiselessly, she descended the stairs and with a sharp scan of the area, she made it out successfully out of the front door without being seen by anyone. She could not believe how easy it was to leave the house undetected with all those elders in there. She allowed herself to let go of the breath she was holding all along to clear her head as she begun to make her way to the gates. As she approached the gates, the guard around who saw her run up to her with a confused look.

"Hinata-sama do you need something?" he inquired.

"No I just need to go out." She replied.

"Oh, would you like me to arrange a car for you?" The guard deduced from her response to which Hinata shook her head to refute.

"No need for that. I'm just going for a walk." She lied which seemed to answer the question on the guard's lips.

"Oh ok, Hinata-sama." He answered feeling sheepish as he quickly opened the gates for her, to which she thank him before she passed.

As soon as she got outside, she took in a deep breath and begun to walk as fast as she could from the mansion before anyone could detect her absence and start looking for her. As soon as she was at a safe distance from the Hyuga compound and getting to the main road, she took out her phone and begun to dial a familiar number. But there was no answer. She tried for three more times and got the same response making her heart begin to sink. That was when she realised throughout all these days she was playing walking dead, she had not received a single call or text from him making something hit her hard in her stomach.

_Itachi…._

She didn't let that back her down as she took her phone and let her fingers dance over the screen to type a text, to which she was quickly done with and tapped her screen to send it. She made the few steps she needed to get her to the main road, where she shot her hand out and stopped a cab to take her to Itachi's apartment.

* * *

He grunted as he was given a rude awakening from his slumber by the sudden sharp ringing of his phone. He cracked his eyes open wondering why he had not drowned the annoying device already. Upon not answering his phone for these past days, he would have thought people would have already got the hint that he didn't want to be bothered, but if they chose to be stubbornly oblivious like his father just to get under his skin, he wouldn't be surprise they didn't only take the hint, but choose to ignore it anyway. It had been like this since the funeral, he shutting the world out, not stepping out of the comfort of his apartment nor bothering to pick any of the numerous calls that came in. He didn't need to be genius to guess most of the calls were from his father without checking, the one person he couldn't stomach facing.

Without bothering to get up from his comfortable position of lying in his couch, he reached out his long arm to pick up the noisy device from the centre table to cut the noisy fanfare the call came along with only for his mildly curious eyes to take a glance at the screen resulting in his whole body freezing at the name displayed on his screen.

The name of one person he actually couldn't stomach seeing at all and the reason he was living like a dead man since the funeral.

_Hinata._

The name that awoke his dormant heart with joy and pain at the same time.

For the first time in these past few days, he felt his heart beat so hard he could feel his rib cage shake as he watch her name display on the screen, totally forgetting how the ringing of his phone was annoying him earlier, only for the call to end and for his heart to drop at her name vanishing from his screen.

He almost jumped at the suddenness of the second call bringing his phone back to life and like a magic trick also bringing his heart to life at her name appearing on his screen again. But he just stared at her name on his screen and did not make any move to cut it nor answer it. He felt a painful lump form in his throat as he had so much he wanted to say to her yet he couldn't and therefore could not answer her call like he was dying to. So he could only watch as her call would end only for her to call again, and this cycle went on till he laid there staring at the blank screen of his phone as after the consecutive unanswered calls he had remained in this position without any call coming through. His heart fell in disappointment thinking she gave up so soon.

But as if to prove him wrong, his phone blared back to life but only for a short time compared to the calls. It was a text. From her.

He sat up abruptly as the rate of his heart beat escalated, afraid to open it mostly because he did not know what to expect to find in it. After writing his fear off as silliness, he went ahead to open it only to be proven wrong again and his heart skipped a beat with alarm as his wide eyes took in the contents of the message.

**I am coming over to see you right now.**

It took a while as he remained frozen staring at the message before he snapped back to his senses to assimilate what she meant.

_She is coming here. Right now._

And he couldn't let that happen.

He quickly shot to his feet immediately to walk briskly to his room to get something appropriate to wear as he dialled her number to call her.

* * *

Hinata's eyes were trained on her blank phone screen as if to telepathically command it to come alive. But it just blankly stared back at her. She felt that unwelcome chill run down her spine again that left a bitter after taste in her mouth. It was a bad feeling she was having about the situation and she didn't like the fact she was having that.

_No this is all in my mind. After I see him….after I see Itachi, everything would be cleared._

A flash of his soulless cold eyes crossed her mind as if to laugh and refute her mind set.

_He must…..he must have a good reason for that._ She told herself firmly, closing her heart to any doubts or fears about Itachi.

She glance out the cab window to see they were on the highway, which meant she was about almost half way getting to Itachi's apartment. Her heart begun to race at that realisation, her nervousness now becoming more apparent to her. She let a solemn amused smile dance across her lips.

She didn't even know what she would say when she is in front of him. It was like she was back to square one, to those times before they even got to know each other and ended up dating, those times he initially used to intimidate her because she thought he was coming for her head due to their little glitch at the very beginning. Funny enough the first time they actually interacted with each other, she didn't know him enough to be intimidated by him which resulted in their first meeting being a truly epic one.

In spite of her mood, a giggle escaped her lips at the memory making her heavy heart seem lighter as she allowed her mind take her back to those times… when life was so simple.

**''''**

**oooooooooooooooooooo**

**''''**

It wasn't surprising for two of the international business heavyweights of Japan to have their heirs enrolling in one of the Ivy League Universities, universities deemed as the best of the best of all the universities in the world. But what was surprising was upon them having 8 schools to choose from the Ivy League, their heirs happened to end up in the same university, Cornell.

Both fathers were aware of this happening. In fact Itachi was already in Cornell before Hinata chose to enrol there. Hiashi knew of this but did not prevent her from doing so. Fugaku knew this would happen and if Hinata were to choose any other school even be it another Ivy League school, he knew Hiashi would make sure she still chose Cornell eventhough he was very well aware of his arch enemy's son attending the same university. So yet again it's not surprising both heirs of enemy clans ended up in the same university even with possible insistence by their fathers, since both Fugaku and Hiashi were themselves alumni of Cornell. And as alumni who broke and set records of their own there, they would also want their children to continue with their legacy and what better environment to that than were you have a constant poignant awareness of your enemy and rival close by. The one person you would die than lose to.

Both men had the same thing in mind.

The competition both fathers wanted would have had the possibility to see the day of light if either Itachi or Hinata gave two garden eggs about all that or even if they remembered the other still existed under the sun with them, eventhough they knew of each other due to them being of the same social status and coming from rival families. It would have also been more probable if it was Sasuke being in the same school as Hinata, but Sasuke chose Brown so as to escape his brother's shadow and also make his own name in a new territory.

Itachi was in 5th year of his Architectural undergraduate course and Hinata was a freshman. Eventhough before they enrolled they were already known due to the legacies left behind by their fathers, Itachi had already made a name of his own in Cornell as genius of his own right and his name was on the lips of most of the student body, both male and female with admiration, fascination, intimidation and envy, and his naturally blessed outstanding Uchiha good looks even skyrocketed his already immense popularity. He was practically untouchable in Cornell.

Hinata who had already made up her mind to complete her stay here in seclusion, was not amused by the unwanted attention she got as soon as the colour of her eyes gave her identity away. To salvage this problem, she took on the nerdy look, complete with huge lenses and with a lot of her hair covering her face to hide traitorous eyes that always gave away who she was, a look one would not expect of a Hyuga heiress who many expected to embrace her popularity handed to her on a silver platter to become a demi god here like Itachi was. And like a nerd, she was always found with her nose in thick and heavy books at a particular secluded corner of the library and once there she would be in her own bubble totally unaware of her surroundings. Hinata just needed to move her stuff to that corner of the library to officially make it her room as she spent almost all her time after lectures there and even had times she slept overnight in the library since it was a 24\7 library and therefore she was lucky she wasn't at risked of being locked inside. Due to this lifestyle of hers, her GPA was always in the first class range and also made her have a social life almost like that of a monk on some mountains at the ends of the world, being almost if not for her group members assigned to her for group projects, who she had no option but to know. She always found herself in the awkward position whenever her roommate asks her to mention her name to find out if Hinata remembers which she found out she didn't to her dismay and Hinata's embarrassment.

Eventhough Itachi's social life was light years way better than Hinata's, his course seemed to be slowly but steadily killing it especially now in his 5th year. He found himself stuck in the studio for several hours and sometimes the whole day trying to finish mountains of projects before the deadline. There had been a few times where his tiredness had taken over him and he ended up spending the night at his work desk, his rolls of papers serving as his makeshift pillow. He even had to decline night outs with his guys more times than he wanted to. He was sure by the time he was done with his course, amongst his many expected accolades he would also be given that of the most non-existent social life.

He didn't know he had to compete with one Hyuga heiress for that award.

It was afternoon and Hinata was at her usual spot in the library, dozing off with her book in hand. Exams was approaching and as such she was studying with even more vigour than usual towards it, resulting in her spending the whole night studying and catching just a little amount of sleep to get more time to learn. And as the old adage says, one can never cheat nature, she was paying for depriving herself of sleep heavily by dozing of whiles learning in the day. She abruptly woke up and realised she was dozing off when she almost fell over in her slumber. To push her eyes to stay wide awake to continue learning, she stumbled to her feet to make her way out of the library to the vending machine in search of anything caffeinated. Unfortunately for her, the vending machines were either not working or didn't have caffeinated drinks more precisely coke which was strange, so her determined legs took her all the way to the next building.

Luckily for her the second floor had a working vending machine with caffeinated drinks in it, her eyes lighting up at the sight of coke which she was specifically looking for. She inserted her coin into the machine and allowed a yawn escape her mouth as she waited for her drink. But it was almost a minute and there was no drink. Hinata rose an eye brow at this.

She just saw someone use it before her without any problem so how come….

She punched the button with her finger again and waited for her drink but no drink appeared. She did this a couple of times and she still got the same response. Her eye begun to twitch in irritation as her patience was running thin, this reaction being catalysed by her sudden grumpiness from not having enough sleep. She decided to get physical with machine by hitting its sides till it gave up and vomited out her drink, but her first try left her cringing in pain from her sore knuckles as she was too drained of energy to do anything that physical.

"I can see the machine has another victim." A male voice said from behind her making her turn to see a guy with shaggy hair giving her a toothy grin.

Hinata could just stand there blinking at him not knowing what to say.

"May I?" he asked out of nowhere with his amused eyes on her as she gave him a confused look not getting his question.

He chuckled.

"I mean may I help you with the machine?" he corrected making her eyes brighten with understanding and feeling a little sheepish at the same time.

She simply nodded since words still failed her. The guy walked up to the side of the machine and squatted by it and placed his ear to it which made Hinata give him a weird look. All of a sudden he disconnected his ear from the machine and with a quick bang of his strong fist against where his ear was previously placed, her drink finally tumbled out, making Hinata's eyes lighten up with joy and gratitude at her Good Samaritan.

"Thank y-"just when she was about to thank her saviour for helping her with her long awaited drink, out of nowhere a hand shot out and took the drink, placed a coin on the machine and then from nowhere like the hand that took her drink she heard a deep voice say the very words she was just about to mouth.

"Thank you."

All this seemed to happen in a flash of a second for Hinata. She could only blink as she tried to catch what had just happened. Her eyes fell to the coin that was placed on the vending machine. She then moved them to the one who placed it there and her eyes were met with the back of a tall guy with dark long hair tied in a neat low pony in a blue black shirt and black jeans all fitting his lean body perfectly not hiding the muscle that flexed subtly beneath the fabric with his movement. The temporary fascination of the stranger's back seized when her eyes fell on the drink in his hand.

Her drink.

Her eyes moved to the empty vending machine were her drink was previously to emphasize the point making her finally assimilate what had just happened.

He took her drink. He took the drink she had walked all the way from her building to this building for, the drink she had almost fractured her knuckles for, the drink her saviour had gone through the trouble to doing a weird stunt even with people around to see just to get the drink for her.

_And this guy just came here out of nowhere…..and took the drink._

_My drink._

Hinata tried to take in deep breaths to calm herself as her eye was now twitching badly indicating she was getting royally pissed by the second. But when she opened her eyes and they fell on the coin he left behind, all self-control went down the drain and she snapped.

Hinata Hyuga snapped.

She didn't know who he was. And she didn't care.

….

But the shaggy haired stranger had seen his face and knew who he was. Under normal circumstances if the drink were for him, he would have done the smartest thing everyone else would have done in this situation, let it go because of who the guy was. But when he saw how the meek and fragile girl stood there helplessly watching her drink being taking away just like that, he got mad.

He clenched his fists as he turned his angry eyes to the raven head's back.

_Who the hell does he think he is?_

Just when he was about to advance towards him and confront him, something dashed past him and before he could blink, his eyes rather widened with shock as they took in the meek and fragile girl materializing in front of the raven head successfully blocking his path and stopping him but that was not what made the brown haired stranger's jaw hit the floor. The meek and fragile girl was standing in front of the most untouchable guy in Cornell and was…she was glaring at him.

First of all, the shaggy haired guy could never in his wildest dreams picture the mousey girl manage a frown on her soft features, much more a glare. And it wasn't just a glare. It was the death glare of the millennia. And that was when he actually saw her eyes to see the unmistakable pale shade that belong to….

When the shaggy haired guy thought nothing could be more shocking than seeing this timid girl turn badass, he stood corrected.

_She is….._

_And he is…_

Hinata's chest heaved with both infuriation and the rush of adrenaline that propelled her to face the guy who dared to take the drink she had gone through a lot of trouble to get. This was very uncharacteristic of Hinata. The normal thing she would have done on any day would have just take the coin he left and struggle to get the drink again and let him go. Heck even if he hadn't left a coin she would have silently just fished out another coin from her pocket to get another drink.

But today was not a normal day or was Hinata her normal self. She was stressed, irritable from not having enough sleep(which wasn't a good combo for anyone) and all in all frustrated with her long and fruitless search for her drink and God being so good He let the kind stranger help her get it only for this guy from nowhere to come and take it just like that and leave a coin like she was supposed to obediently take it and that would make everything ok.

Hinata clenched her fist hard in anger as she looked up to glare at the impudent guy with her steel cold inherited Hyuga eyes. Her anger clouded eyes cleared for a second for her to catch the nonchalant look on the guy's face change to that of surprise as his eyes fell on her making her wonder if there was something on her face. But as she stubbornly glared at him, something suddenly hit her. Something she had been missing all this time hit her hard.

The nostalgia gripped her still as she finally recognized him as she took his trademark family features: his black hair, charcoal black eyes that seemed to have a perpetual scarlet stirring in them and his own unique feature that identified him from the rest of his clan, his tear troughs which run under each eye.

_This was…._

_Uchiha._

_Uchiha Itachi._

Then she realised he had already recognized her.

Hinata could have sworn she saw a ghost of a smirk on the guy's lips before it was no more there like it never happened. With his nonchalant look from before in place he walked right past her, like she wasn't even standing right before him.

The twitching of Hinata's eye got erratic at this.

She didn't care who this guy was or whatever was going on between their families. All she knew at the moment was that he as an individual pissed her of to newer lengths she never thought she could ever reach with anyone and she had had enough of him.

"That is my drink you have in your hands, Uchiha-san." Her soft but firm voice rang through the hall way instantly causing everyone there to turn to the source including Itachi, who turned to look at her as if to question if she actually said that, and her defiant eyes boring holes into him confirmed that.

He then turned fully to her making her heart skip a beat at actually taking her time to take in his face well, which was a big mistake on her part. And despite her anger, she was struck. Hard. She had heard of what a genius and a young prodigy Itachi Uchiha was amongst many achievements of his as that was what she was to compete against. But she didn't understand why no one ever mentioned he was this stunning to brace herself for the hit and prevent herself from looking like an idiot like she thought she was looking now.

From the way his long bangs fell over his wide obsidian eyes that seemed to have an everlasting scarlet tint hooded with such long lashes that any woman would envy, to his sharp and well defined straight nose down to his full lips, Hinata felt herself mesmerized at the same time overwhelmed by it all making her feel small and insignificant being in his presence and much more, feeling silly challenging him in the first place.

Getting her where he wanted at seeing her glare waver, he fixated his piercing eyes on her as he slowly but menacingly walked towards her in a leisurely yet dangerous pace with no intent of stopping even as he was getting closer than comfort making her almost take a step back as he towered over her making her look and feel even smaller than before.

"I don't think I caught what you said earlier. Could you repeat it?" it was a dare, no, more of a threat telling her not to dare repeat what she said earlier and just run away for her own good.

Just when she was about to give in to the chill that run down her spine under his dense gaze and take a step back, she stopped at a sudden realisation.

This is what he wanted. He wanted to intimidate her, so she would chicken out of demanding what was rightfully hers. Her drink.

This even made him get on her nerves the more.

_Who the hell did he think he was?_

She looked past all his distracting aesthetics to look him eye ball to eye ball in defiance.

"I said you have my drink in your possession and I would like you to kindly hand it over to me." Hinata said in a carefully trained and polite tone against her anger burning inside her chest for him but with a biting edge to it. His eyes widen a bit in surprise after her words, seemingly taken aback by her bravery. And all of a sudden, it changed to amusement which manifested itself as a smirk turning the sides of his lips upwards, making Hinata almost question his sanity. But she found herself letting out a sharp gasp as he suddenly bent down to bring his face dangerously close to hers as he held her bewildered eyes with his intense ones.

"You could easily use the coin I left over to get another drink instead of wasting both of our times." He said monotonously like he was stating a fact. But then he let his head cock to the side, broadening his smirk as the scarlet in his eyes grew darker "Unless you can't let this one past because…..I am an Uchiha and you are a Hyuga?"

His words seemed pull Hinata from her state of shock from their close proximity to fix him with a look.

"And are refusing to give my drink back to me based on such sentiments?" Hinata threw his question back to him making his eyes widen again in surprise for the second time in their little exchange as she indirectly hinted her carelessness of the names they both bore. And like the one before it, it was replaced with an amused smirk with something she couldn't put her finger on, glimmering in his eyes as the intensity of his eyes deepened.

"Would you believe me if I said no?" he asked with a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice.

"Would you give my drink back to me to prove that?" Hinata threw back almost immediately, taking her by surprise as all of a sudden he begun to chuckle at her words.

"Interesting." He said in between chuckles as he straightened up to his full height, as he schooled his features back his blank look from before. " But unfortunately I have to disappoint you and say no, I can't give the drink to you." And with one last glance at Hinata he turned to leave, but surprising even her, Hinata's legs moved almost immediately to intercept him.

"And I can't let you have my drink." Hinata said stubbornly staring up at him unmoving.

"Aren't you also contradicting yourself by not letting go because of our last names?" he cocked an elegant eyebrow upwards as he dropped his question.

"No, I can't let go not because you are an Uchiha or because I am a Hyuga, but because a nice guy went through a lot of trouble just to get that drink for me." She countered, which seemed to make the Uchiha pause to stare at her quietly with those intense eyes of his with something unreadable dancing through them.

…..

"Then I don't think he would mind going through that trouble again with the coin I left since he is a nice guy." He finally said after the pause as if that was his conclusion from the words she said earlier after a long thought.

Hinata was left aghast by his words unable to believe this guy's lack of insensitivity.

Hinata clenched her fist in resolve.

"I can see words can't get to you." Hinata concluded.

"Its good you are finally realis-"Itachi's words were unceremoniously cut by Hinata all of a sudden charging towards him to snatch the drink. But in the last second before she could touch it, Itachi's sharp reflexes kicked in to move the drink from her reach raising it above their heads.

Itachi blinked at her.

"What do you think you are doing?" Itachi asked her like she had lost her mind.

"If persuasion fails, force is applied." And immediately after she finished talking she jumped to reach out for the drink suddenly only for Itachi to see thorough her actions to effortlessly toss the drink into his other hand away from her reach.

Hinata had to hold herself from stomping her feet in frustration like a kid as she glared at Itachi who had a mocking smirk on his face as he continued to toss her drink from one hand to the other to tease her and dare her to try and take it from him once more.

Her breaths grew heavy with infuriation as she helplessly just glared at him.

She cursed her lack of height.

"Oh, already giving up?" he asked in feigned innocence and then his smug smirk she had grown to hate reappeared to mock her. "Then I guess I win. Why don't we drink to that?"

Just when Hinata was about to stop him from doing what he was about to do, he beat her to it and the results of his actions left the girl frozen in place. Everything happened so fast and so shockingly. Just when he ended his words he brought the drink before him to open it and to prevent Hinata from getting to him before he did so, he without wasting time flicked the metal tab of the can drink to open it, which he was going to regret the next second, as before the shocked eyes of everyone in the hallway the contents of the can shot right into Uchiha Itachi's face, The Uchiha Itachi's face. For a moment there the only sound that could be heard in the hallway was the drink splashing into Itachi's face as the gobsmacked audience of this unbelievable scene could just gape and watch, forgetting to breathe in their shock.

The drink finally emptied all is contents into the Uchiha's face, making it possible for him to now open his eyes. And all he could do was blink owlishly as the drink dripped from his face as if he was still struggling to understand what had just happened.

Hinata could not take it anymore as a cough choked out her lips which gave way to a huge burst of laughter, the force of it causing her to double over in her fit of laughter making everyone turn their bewildered eyes to the girl like she had grown an extra head that had also joined in on the laughter. When whoever present who was daring enough to want to laugh was waiting patiently to get into a dark corner to ease themselves of the laughter burning in their chest, she was freely doing so, laughing at him right in front of him, Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha Itachi who virtually ruled the school.

_Did she have a death wish or had she had completely lost her mind?_

_To beginning…. with did she even know who she was laughing at?_

They couldn't help but wonder as they just stood there awkwardly to stare at the girl and then back to Itachi as if they were waiting for a bomb out of nowhere to explode there and then.

Finally she was able to let her laughter die down to giggles as she approached the Uchiha.

The others were now truly convinced she had lost her mind as they couldn't fathom how anyone in their right mind would approach someone they had laughed at in their most humiliating state much more it being Itachi Uchiha.

Heck, you bolt to the opposite direction as fast as you could, not walk right into your grave by approaching the person you made a laughing stock of.

Hinata stopped in front of him now being the one stepping too close for comfort and he could only stare at her blankly with a smug look now on her face. She then put a hand in her back pocket to fish out something.

"If you are still having trouble figuring out what just happened, the tossing of the drink in your hands is what caused its explosion on your face." She pointed out with uncharacteristic mischief and companion casualness to her voice as she finally brought her hand out of her pocket, along with a handkerchief. As if the spectators thought they weren't capable of getting knocked over by anything upon what they had just witnessed, they stood humbly corrected.

Hinata reached out and placed the handkerchief on his shoulder now with a genuine smile of concern on her face making puzzlement reflect in his eyes.

"If you do not clean the drink off you soon, it would get sticky. Hope this helps, Itachi-san." And with that, she gave a slight bow before, turning to leave with everyone's eyes on her, especially a very stunned set of charcoal eyes.

**''''''''**

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

**''''''''**

A giggle escape Hinata's lips at her memory jog her back to the past were she first encountered Itachi, the giggle bringing a sense nostalgia which came along with a breath of fresh air and lightening her heavy heart since it was her first of any form of laughter since her father's death. She giggled harder when she remembered how the next day after their little incident, to her immense surprise, people couldn't stop talking about how awesome and hot Itachi looked with coke dripping from his face and it became an 'it' thing every girl wanted her boyfriend to do and every guy wanted to do to get game.

_Unbelievable._

Hinata thought as she couldn't believe how an utterly humiliating scene could turn to the new fad on campus. It was like the new hot commercial for the drink which everyone was now nuts for as now everyone wanted that drink and the vending machines were now out of them every day.

That was when Hinata finally realised who she had messed with and begun watching her back every step she made. And instead of appearing from the back as she expected, he came from the front which completely took her by a great surprise.

She remembered how she froze in fright waiting for him to exact his revenge on her. But to her surprise that was not what he came for. He came to return her handkerchief and to give her a drink, coke, like the one he took from her. She remembered how from that day onwards he always brought her the drink at her corner in the library. The familiar feeling of butterflies filled her stomach like then when she thought of how cute the gesture was. Of how special she felt, for someone who was practically worshipped by the whole student body and would have better places to go choosing to come to her secluded corner every day to give her a drink. How he got to know of her obscure hangout, she didn't exactly know and didn't bother to because she loved the whole mystery about it but she knew for someone with the student body at his beck and call it wouldn't be that hard.

Her heavy heart was now a lot lighter than before as she realised no matter what happened that was her Itachi, the man who she wasn't supposed to love but managed to warm his way into her heart, and no matter what was wrong with him or bothering him, she was going to find out and help him through it.

From the very beginning he always came to her. He always pushed her to move beyond her limits, he made her learn how to dream and believe in them and this time it was her turn to go to him so that if he didn't have the strength to go beyond his limits anymore she would push him to and if he no longer had knew how to dream she would teach him. This resolve calmed her beating anxious heart with confidence and determination.

Just then her phone begun to ring and as if she had summoned him with her thoughts, Itachi's contact name appeared on her screen making her heart leap in her chest seeing this as a ray of hope.

_He called._ The joy dancing in her heart gleamed in her eyes as she wasted no time to answer his call.

"Itachi." She blurted out breathlessly failing to calm her excited nerves.

"Hinata." He responded in his normal calm voice making Hinata's insides act funny like usual. "I need to see you." Hinata felt a chill of excitement run down her spine engulfing her whole body with warmth at his words giving her the feel of warm honey over her body.

"I also want to see you, Itachi. I am in a cab about halfway to your place." She said enthusiastically.

"A cab?... could you alight at the bus stop by the post office? I would come and pick you up from there." Itachi instructed.

"Sure. I would see you then." Hinata responded.

"Ok." And with that the phone went dead. Hinata remained still for some time to ponder over their brief call.

_Why would he want me to alight somewhere else to pick me instead of letting the cab take me straight to his place?_

She asked herself trying to understand his actions.

_Unless he wasn't taking me to his place…._

_But where is he taking me and why not let the cab take me there straight?_ Another question she found difficult to answer popped up in her head.

Then a realisation hit her.

_He is taking me to our lake house so we can talk. So he can explain what happened at the funeral in detail with just us alone. _She concluded and found warmth bubbling inside her at that and a smile gracing her face.

_I was right. There was something probably bothering him during the funeral. But he is still my Itachi._

She comforted herself with that idea as she turned to the cab driver.

"Please take me to the bus stop by the post office."

* * *

_Hinata….._

The first time he met her, she laughed at him and she took his breath away.

No one had ever laughed at him to his face before. No one had the opportunity to. He was perfect. That was what everyone said. He was a genius and seemed to be always ahead of everyone around him. As a result, people feared and admired him and as such always kept a respectable distance. It even applied to his little brother, who after years of living under his shadow, begun distancing himself as he grew up, to escape that shadow. Eventhough he was hailed and respected by all, he was the only one on that pedestal with no one to relate to, with no one to actually make him feel human, and normal like everyone else….. like he always craved for.

But that day, when Hinata dared to laugh at him, when he had drink dripping from his face, he felt this strange and foreign feeling of warmth fill the vacuum his chest.

He felt normal. He felt human for the first time.

And as if that was not enough for his first time of joining the human club, she walked to him, came into his personal space, to offer her handkerchief to him clean the drink splashed all over him which was the consequence he got for just snatching her drink away. And then she smiled at him, a genuine smile of concern to someone who tried to take what rightfully belonged to her and was receiving the due punishment for which she should be happy for, but she instead reached out a helping hand to him.

She treated him like if it were to be any other person in his situation and laughed at him, not because she was gloating at what had befallen him, but because it was a rare rib cracking scene that he was sure he himself would have laughed at the hilarious sight of drink being splashed in his face. She then walked up to him and broke through the walls others had created around him, to show him kindness eventhough he was trying to take her drink away from her.

It took a Hyuga to make him an Uchiha feel like human and part of the world.

**_Itachi-san…._**

Eventhough she called him Uchiha san since it was their first time meeting with no familiarity between them, in the end she called him by his first name, like they had already gotten to the stage of familiarity and companionship.

From the beginning she never saw him as an Uchiha. She just saw him as a normal guy who took her drink and went ahead to demand for it.

She went against everything he was told about Hyugas all his life. They said the Hyugas were cold blooded people yet she showed kindness to him when he didn't deserve it. They said the Hyugas were the most notorious snobs yet she was the first person to break through his walls to reach out to him. They said Hyugas were full of hate and had no soul, yet again she never had an ounce of hatred or hostility in her eyes when she looked at him. And all this was just in their first meeting ever.

And it made him wonder if she was not also told this same things by her clan members about the Uchihas?

_Was she even a Hyuga to begin with?_

But who was he to talk when from when he was able to think as an individual from a tender age, he always saw this feud between the Hyugas and Uchihas as baseless and a waste of time. But he just couldn't believe that the one person he had been futilely looking for all this time who shared his sentiments and ideologies, who was no one other than a Hyuga.

After their first meeting, he felt himself uncharacteristically intrigued and fascinated by her and found himself wanting to see her again. After he found her, he wasted no time to approach her with a peace token of a similar drink like the one he took from her. From her alarmed expression at seeing him, he realised she had finally caught on who he was on campus and what 'powers' he held, which upset him since he liked the fact she didn't see him as everyone did like their first encounter. But that was rectified after, consecutive meetings which lead to them getting acquainted, and through this he was able to confirm something he had nagging him at the back of his mind.

She cared less about the hatred between their families, just like he did. Upon all his search, trying to find someone who could see the harm than good this hatred between their families had caused their respective families ,to find someone who couldn't stomach the idea of a child being taught how to hate just as they begun to learn how to talk, to find someone who yearned for peace between the two families for both sides to see they were all just humans with the same red blood running through each other's veins, he finally found that person….. who happened to be the one person he was supposed to hate with every fibre of his being.

Hyuga Hinata.

He had finally found her. The person he could for the first time relate to, the person who could understand him like no other and the person who made him able to experience how to truly love with all your heart and with such intensity he never knew he was capable of and to be also truly loved with that same intensity.

But now…but now…..he was going to have to let it all go. He was going to…

He gripped the steering wheel hard and stepped on the accelerator as the rest of the words got painfully lodged in his throat.

He didn't want to say it out loud.

He couldn't bear to say it or hear it out loud.

He could feel his heart collapse on him as it clenched hard and painfully in his chest.

Everywhere hurt. His chest hurt. His throat hurt. His head hurt. He knew it wouldn't be easy but he didn't know it would be this hard. He thought he could handle it better than this, he didn't think it would take such a toll on him. But he had to do it.

_It was….._

_It was for the best._

With that final resolve, he stepped on the accelerator and zoomed forward.

* * *

"awww Sasuke-kun do I have to leave this early, its Saturday lets cuddle in bed the whole day." Sasuke tried to pry the clingy arms of the woman off him as he bristled at the thought of cuddling in bed with the banshee the whole day. She was even lucky he made her spend the night as she was totally passed out after their hot and heavy session the night before.

_She must have had too much to drink last night._

He didn't care though but was just too happy when she finally woke to rip her off his bed and send her out, but that proved difficult as she was still grabbing on to him and trying to pull his sweat pants off so they could go at it there and then, but he was in no mood for that as he was done with her and wanted her out. He didn't care her mini skirt was not zipped properly and was falling off her hips or that her blouse was unbuttoned exposing her torso, her modesty only saved by her bra trying to contain her generous mounds from spilling out. If she spent another second here, he was going to throw her out his window. Ignoring her whining, he put a firm hand at the small of her back and successfully dragged her to the door, already unlocking the doors to throw her out.

He opened the door and in her last ditch attempt to stay, she pressed her bra clad breasts to his bare chest since he was only in his sweat pants.

"Are you sure you don't want us to do it on the door? It would be fun." She purred as her hungry hands were already moving down to the band of his sweet pants in their attempt to discard it.

Just when he was about to open the door wider to push her out, the blood drained from his face as his eyes caught what was behind the door.

"Dad!" He blurted out in shock at the man whose was frozen where he stood with his hand hanging awkwardly in the air like he was about to knock, mirroring his horrified expression.

Sasuke fought the urge to face palm as he could only imagine what was going through his father's head seeing him in nothing but his sweat pants loosely hanging around his slender waist with an almost naked woman pressing herself to him as she tried to undo his pants suggesting they banged on the door where his father currently stood.

He sighed.

He turned to the woman and fixed her with one of his infamous glares instantly making her balk back in fear.

"Get out." And that was enough to send the now petrified girl scurrying out of the apartment while struggling to keep her clothes on. He couldn't help but wish he would have done this earlier to save him and his father from this awkward situation they were in now that she was gone leaving the two of them alone.

"I hope you would spare me of all the talk on the hazards of pre-marital sex, dad." Sasuke sighed

"That's if you don't permit me to believe that you are stupid enough to get just anyone pregnant." Fugaku shot at him with a grim look on his face.

Sasuke just shrugged it off and walked in to the apartment to his coffee maker to make some coffee to indirectly invite his father in, who had already made himself at home and was about to sit in one of the couches only for him to halt abruptly in his tracks to give the couch a dirty look.

Sasuke chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, that one is safe." Sasuke piped up from the coffee maker with a mischievous amused smirk on his face as Fugaku shot him a dirty look this time.

"Tsk." Fugaku shook his head as he hesitantly took his seat.

Sasuke just grinned mischievously as he went to his cabinet to look for mugs.

"Coffee?" he called out to his father who with a wave of the hand, declined.

Sasuke just put back the extra mug and came back to the coffee maker to fill his mug as he waited for his father to spill out his reason for his much unexpected and very surprising visit.

"Have you heard from your brother?" Fugaku finally spoke up, making Sasuke pause as he was about to bring his mug of hot black coffee to his lips, instantly wiping the smirk from before off his face.

"So….that's why you came all the way to pay me a visit?" Sasuke said sarcastically as his face grew hard as his eyes shone with disappointment as they stayed at his father's back facing him.

Fugaku turned his head to Sasuke to give him a questioning look.

"Why, is there any other reason why I would be here instead of my office working because someone spends his Saturdays rolling in bed with anything in skirt?" Fugaku threw back.

Sasuke gave a dry humourless chuckle at this trying to ignore the pang of bitterness in his chest.

_Either work or Itachi._

_I never stood a chance when I am not even worth second best now._

"Not at all." Sasuke replied as he quickly downed a large gulp of his hot steamy coffee to burn down the sour and aching feeling in his chest. "I haven't heard from him. I've tried calling but he doesn't pick"

"Hn." Fugaku simply replied.

"But why are you here inquiring of this when you could simply go to his place?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask, raising an eyebrow in question.

…

There was no answer making a realisation hit Sasuke.

"Did he keep you out?" Sasuke asked in both shock and curiosity at this very interesting and unbelievable realisation of his father being kept out of Itachi apartment and he actually obeying.

"I need you to go and see him." Fugaku simply answered ignoring his question.

_So he was kept out_. Sasuke couldn't help but gloat in his head as he chuckled darkly under his breath.

_First that nosy prick Koga and now father, wow Itachi was just making his dreams come true and it wasn't even Christmas yet. To see those two in this pathetic helpless state was just priceless. _

But then he got serious to ponder over the whole situation.

All these unusual things begun after Hyuga Hiashi's death. Itachi's disappearance from the office and his now disappearance from the world. Even right after the Hyuga's death, Itachi and his father having a meeting where even Fugaku's shadow Koga wasn't supposed to be there and now, Fugaku seemingly forbidden to go to Itachi place and he of all people heeding to it, was all just too unusual to be ignored as something petty.

Something big must have happened connected to Hyuga Hiashi's death, something so big even Koga, Fugaku's most trusted right hand man could not be let out on it, something so big the proud and all powerful Fugaku Uchiha was made to stay away from Itachi's apartment by Itachi himself and he actually obeyed and came crawling to him, Sasuke to help him to get access to Itachi.

What did Itachi have on Fugaku, so big he totally isolated himself from the world, so big Fugaku was obeying his wishes without question or without any kind of force and was all connected to the death of Hyuga Hiashi?

Fugaku stood to his feet, as he had made the purpose of his visit clear and had to leave to the load of work waiting for him at the office, but then when he was about to make known his departure to Sasuke, he paused with a puzzled look on his face as he saw his son's face frozen in horror as his wide alarmed eyes were fixated on him.

"What is it?" Fugaku questioned, uncomfortable at how Sasuke was gawking at him.

Sasuke stood there paralyzed by a horrific realisation that got to him.

The business deal between his father and Hiashi Hyuga and how he died on the day for the final signing…

Itachi's strange behaviour immediately afterwards and he able to throw both his father and his right hand man in a state of unease and for his father to have something that Koga didn't know but Itachi did and as such seemed to have some power over Fugaku….

_No…_

_This can't be….._

"Father….did you….could you have…." Sasuke found his voice and begun to ask but lost his voice before he could finish, afraid of the question dying at the tip of his tongue.

_Did his father…..was his father capable of killing even if it was Hyuga Hiashi, his greatest nemesis?!_

Sasuke couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it, that his father was capable of murder of any sort, yet taking everything that had happened everything seemed to point to that…

That someway somehow his father had something to do with Hyuga Hiashi's death.

The thought of his father having his hands stained with another person's blood even be it a Hyuga, made Sasuke's stomach churn and a chill run down his spine as he didn't want to believe the one man he admired and feared in spite of everything, was capable of stooping so low as to commit murder.

"Boy, if you have something to say let it out. I do not have all day." Fugaku called out impatiently, immediately pulling Sasuke from his trance.

_No, it couldn't be._ From the reports, Hiashi Hyuga died from cardiac arrest as he was already having heart problems so his father couldn't have killed him. Sasuke convinced himself as he blocked any other thought of doubts or possible theories to debunk his father's innocence of Hyuga Hiashi's death, that innocence he was going to fiercely believe in, because he was afraid, he was afraid that his world would crumble and fall apart if the one man he believed in, the one man he looked up to and held in high regard apart from his brother Itachi, was nothing but a killer.

_No his father has been able to achieve the greatness he has all by his hard work and capabilities, he didn't need to stoop so low as to kill a mere Hyuga and taint his flawless image just to seal the deal between them in his favour._

_No it was just the Hyuga's bad luck and bad timing to die. Nothing more._

"No, its nothing. I would pass by Itachi's to see what's up with him. I already had that in mind anyway." Sasuke was now back to normal, now speaking with indifference like he didn't look like he had just seen a ghost a second ago.

Fugaku watched him intently for some time, seemly not convinced by Sasuke's act of sudden composure as oppose to a second ago how he looked at him, like ….he couldn't put a finger on it but, it seemed so similar to how Itachi looked at him when he asked him…..

**_Are you even human?_**

And it greatly unnerved him, to think Sasuke knew something. But that was impossible because only he and itachi knew fully what happened and to some extent Koga and with the three of them, there was no way Sasuke could ever know a thing.

_So why?_

_Did he suspect something? What did he suspect? What was going on in his mind?_

"Father, is there a problem?" Sasuke question as Fugaku spaced out, giving his father a weird look.

Fugaku blinked back to normal to wear a blank face.

_It was best not to ask him anything so as not give him a reason to suspect anything in case he hadn't at all or give him more reason to if he did suspect something._

"Make sure to report back to me after you go and see Itachi." And with that he made his way to the door and let himself out.

But Sasuke's eyes still remained were his father previously stood, with so many things stirring in them.

"Please do not disappoint me, Dad."

* * *

_She had lost weight._

He thought to himself as he sat in the car watching her sit down waiting for him, making no move to make his presence known. He had been watching her like this for the past 30 minutes since he arrived.

He was hesitating. Eventhough his resolve had driven him here, in the last minute he hesitated. He knew this would happen if he didn't immediately plunge into action as soon as he arrived but, he had to do this, he had to watch her and let his eyes savour her like this, since it was probably going to be the last time he could do so, probably the last time he would have the right to do so.

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he clenched his teeth as he watched her, but couldn't help but marvel despite his dark mood at how even in black and going through even darker times, she was still able to maintain the luminance of her beauty and as she occasionally looked around for any sign of him and he couldn't help himself from letting a small wistful smile grace his lips at how adorable she looked when her hopeful eyes fell a bit at not seeing any sign of him. His heart would have swollen with happiness and warmth if it were any other day and in any other situation, and she was waiting for him like this. But now all that filled his heart was pain and regret, as he was going to be the one to kill that hope in her eyes.

He hated him himself for this_…..but it was for the best._

She was about to pick her phone and make a call, most probably call him, since impatience was now settling in on her face.

_If only she knew what she was being impatient about…._

The guilt in his head mocked him.

He wish he could warn her… he wished he could tell her to run away.

Without wasting any more time before a minute indecision sent him running away instead from what he was to do, he stepped on his accelerator to drive him from his hiding place into view and zoom right in front of Hinata who almost jumped from her skin at the suddenness of his appearance. But she calmed down and shot to her feet when she realised it was Itachi, her eyes lighting up with life and hope that seemed to mock him and make his stomach churn. He immediately opened the door for her from the inside to beckon her to come inside, to which she did and gracefully glided herself to the passenger seat next to him, shutting the door after her.

A sudden nervousness enveloped her as soon as she entered the car, making her fix her eyes to her hands in her lap as if she was afraid to raise her eyes to meet Itachi's, as the seemingly eerie atmosphere in the car engulfed her, siphoning out every hope and excitement she had at finally seeing him. He also sat quietly beside her, not moving a muscle to move the car. Her curiosity got the better of her as she finally raised her eyes to his face to see him with his eyes fixated ahead with a blank look on his face in an almost unnatural rigidness to the way he sat quietly and unmoving.

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat.

"Hi." She spoke up almost shyly which seemed to successfully break Itachi from the trance he seemed to be in, to finally put his muscles to movement since she sat in the car, to look at her, but his eyes didn't meet hers.

He simply nodded in response.

Her eyes quickly caught the dark circles under his eyes making concern etch into her features.

_He had not been catching enough sleep._

But that was not all, she didn't miss the dullness of his eyes and how they didn't meet hers which was quite uncharacteristic of Itachi who one of the main things people got intimidated by him was how he always looked intently into their eyes.

Then something hit her.

It must be guilt. He must be feeling guilty about what happened at the funeral. That explains why she had not heard from him since the funeral till now. That explained the dark shadow under his almost lifeless eyes that couldn't reach hers.

The guilt was eating him up and had been eating him for days since the funeral and she felt terrible for letting him go through this all on his own when she could have reached out to him earlier than this to assure him there was nothing for him to feel guilty about as she didn't hold anything against him for what happened, instead of her locking herself up in her room and feeling sorry for herself.

She was selfish. She felt awful about herself.

She wanted to apologize to him for letting him drown himself in guilt, to rest assure all his worries and doubts and help him through whatever it was obvious he was going through that caused the incident at the funeral. She wanted to bring life back to his lifeless eyes and for him to look into her eyes with them.

She wanted him to forgive himself.

Unbeknownst to her, her hand of its own volition fell on his hand on his lap to give it a comforting reassuring squeeze, which only made him stiffen in response. Seeing his actions she concluded, he wasn't comfortable enough with himself enough to address the issue so she was going to wait patiently for him to be comfortable enough to do so.

Itachi then moved his hand from under hers to place it on the steering wheel. Hinata heart instinctively fell a bit at the loss of warmth from his hand but she told herself she understood him.

"Shall we?" he asked in an almost inaudible voice.

Hinata just nodded demurely in response letting herself fall into her seat as Itachi begun to move the car to their destination.

* * *

He knocked on the door for the third time.

"Hinata-sama, Hinata-sama, it's time for breakfast." But like the previous times he knocked, there was no response.

He gave an exasperated sigh.

He had no option but to enter without invitation.

"Forgive me, Hinata-sama, but I am entering." Ko announced as he entered only to find her room empty.

He paused.

"Hinata-sama." Ko called as he went further in the room in search of Hinata. But there was no sign of her, and he begun to get alarmed.

He dashed to her bathroom, closet and balcony but she wasn't there.

Ko begun to get frantic as he dashed to Hanabi's room, who was sleeping and their father's room but there was no Hinata. He searched the other parts of the mansion for her but she was nowhere to be found.

_She was gone. But how? How and when did she manage to get out without anyone noticing? _

_How could she choose a time like this to disappear when she was to meet with the elders before they left today?_

Ko's thoughts became frantic as he paced the hallway back and forth trying to grasp the situation.

But he had to find a solution fast before the elders got to know of her absence.

He calmed down so he could do so properly. First he had to go and ask the guards at the gates if they had seen her leave. He quickly descended the stairs to do that.

...

"The lady said she was going for a walk when I asked to arrange for a car for her. Now that you mentioned it she has been out too long for just a walk. It's almost an hour and she is still not back." One of the guards supplied.

Ko tried to calm himself down. If she purposefully left without a car, it was so no one would know she was going out or where she was going. And for her to go through all this trouble, it only meant one thing.

She was going to see Uchiha Itachi.

Ko clenched his fist hard trying to control himself, hold himself from hitting anything whiles imagining it being the Uchiha's damn face.

_That damn Uchiha must have definitely put her up to this. He must have come to pick her and take her somewhere._

_Dammit._

He didn't understand what kind of mysterious hold that the Uchiha had on his lady that she couldn't stay away from him. It was like she couldn't live without him.

_Upon all the people in the whole wide world, why did it have to be an Uchiha, why did she have to give her heart to someone with no soul?_

Ko's knuckles became white from clenching his fists too hard with the anger and frustration eating him inside at the whole situation.

The whole situation made him sick to his stomach, but first things first.

"I have to find her." he turned and almost had a heart attack at the shock of seeing no one other than Honoka standing right him behind him with her stern gaze on him.

"Honoka-sama." He quickly composed himself to give the elder a deep bow.

"Am I to think the 'her' you have to find is Hinata who is supposed to be locked up in her room like the days that have passed?"

Ko's hesitance to answer confirmed her suspicion.

"And where could she have gone to when she is aware of the fact she has an important meeting with us the elders over breakfast?" her voice went dangerously lower as she narrowed her eyes menacingly at Ko to warn him that this time she demanded an answer.

Ko gulped.

"She went for a walk but seemed to have wandered a bit far. I was just on my way to fetch her." Ko skilfully used Hinata's lie as his to hide where his lady actually went to.

The raising of her eyebrow made Ko almost swear she saw right through his lies and didn't buy anything he said, but she seemed not to want to pursue the matter any further as she was about turning to leave, but stopped in her tracks.

"Do find her this minute, because due to someone's misuse of his pen and his brains, we have a flight to catch instead of the comfort of the availability of a private jet. May his soul rest in perfect peace." And with that snide, Honoka glided gracefully back into the mansion.

Ko held his tongue from replying her unpleasant remark at his former master.

The elders had every right to be angry at his former master, but that didn't give them the right to spit at his grave like this. For being their former leader and fellow clansman they ought to give him some respect.

He couldn't wait for those elders to be gone. Nothing good came from them anytime they were around.

Ko took a deep breath as he begun to make his way to the garage to get one of the cars to search for Hinata.

* * *

As soon as the car jolted to a halt, Hinata unconsciously let out a breath she wasn't aware she was holding. If she had any life in her, that car ride successfully drained every bit of it out of her. There was not even a word shared between them during the car ride. She tried to bring something up to ease the awkwardness but as the words came, they crush her throat shut in silence. The tension in the car was so palpable, she felt it grind out every ounce of air in her lungs and even make the surrounding air so thick it was impossible to breathe in. The car ride was long, it was tortuous and it was nerve wracking.

And Hinata didn't understand. She didn't understand any of it at all.

She didn't understand how she could possibly feel this way when she was with no one other than Itachi. Someone who had always been her safe haven when the whole world was crushing down on her. They didn't even need to speak, just being in each other's company was pure bliss and it gave them a breath of fresh air from all the troubles of the world.

_So what had happened? _

_What had changed now?_

_Did something happen…was something happening that she wasn't aware of?_

_Were they changing without her realising it?_

A sudden fear gripped her heart as the thoughts run wild in her head.

Just then Itachi's cold eyes from the funeral flashed through her head making the fear bite into her heart the more as a question she didn't have the answer to, yet frightened her crossed her mind.

_Itachi…_

_Am I loosing you?_

"Hinata." Itachi's deep voice plucked her mind back to earth as she turned her wide eyes to see Itachi to her surprise standing by her outside holding her door open.

"We have arrived."

She was already aware of that, but her troubled mind seemed to find just that moment of their arrival as a suitable time to space out. She then let her eyes up to take in her environment only to realise they were at a café.

"I thought we were going to the Lake house to talk." Hinata voiced out her confusion before she knew it.

"I presume you haven't had anything in your stomach this morning, neither have I, so I thought it would be more convenient to talk over breakfast." He pointed out.

"I am not hungry." Her mouth moved faster than her again to her dismay. She saw something pass through Itachi's eyes and saw his lips about to form words to speak but she beat him to it.

"But I do not mind having coffee whiles you have your breakfast." She piped up making his words die on his lips.

"Thank you." He said replied politely but it sounded so off like he was speaking to a stranger.

She simply nodded as he opened her door wider to beckon her to join him out of the car.

...

It had been close to 20 minutes since their orders arrived, but they were left untouched. Hinata sat there the whole time watching Itachi who had his chin in one hand with his face turned to the window by their table with his eyes fixated outside in a world of his own.

"You have not touch your food." She pointed out to bring his mind back to the table.

"You have not touched your drink either." Itachi countered without turning making Hinata wondered how he was able to deduce that correctly when he hadn't even looked at her since the came to the café.

"But you said earlier you had nothing to eat so we came here instead so you could have breakfast." Hinata reminded him. "I said I was ok."

Itachi opened his mouth immediately after her words as if to refute her claim, only to close it again.

He then closed his eyes and let himself fall back into his seat with an inaudible sigh.

"I lost my appetite." He said dryly but it almost sounded like it was a jab at Hinata.

Hinata just nodded forgetting he couldn't see her with his eyes closed as she let her down cast eyes fall on her coffee.

"It seems so since it looks like you haven't been eating or sleeping properly of late." Hinata voiced out with deep concern in her voice.

"And have you?" he retorted making Hinata's head snap up to see his accusatory eyes on her making her blush at being caught, making her avert her eyes in embarrassment.

But she couldn't help the small smile that found itself on her lips at this little exchange. The tension seemed to have lessened and from his accurate observations, it showed all along when she thought he hadn't looked at her since they came here, he was actually watching her and paying attention to her unbeknownst to her. It made her lifeless heart flutter to life with warmth at this.

_This was Itachi. Her Itachi, and nothing had changed._

"I have missed you…..I have missed us… being….. just like this." Hinata confessed softly unable to hide the happiness finding its way to heart.

She didn't care about what happened at the funeral or hold anything against him. She was just glad she had her Itachi back, and whatever had been going on with him, she was going to help him through it. It must have been his father's presence that's why he acted like a stranger to her. He probably didn't want his father to catch on their relationship that's why he acted distant. Besides did she expect him to comfort her when not only his father was present but practically her entire clan whose feathers had already been ruffled by his father?

Letting her mind go back to that day, what she could help but question what she was thinking calling him by his first name and trying to cling to him with both their families present and eagerly waiting for a trigger to start a war.

_He must have panicked and acted the way he did._

Hinata at this moment wanted to kick herself at all she made Itachi go through. She could only imagine how awful he must be feeling about himself for having to use such harsh means to prevent their cover from being blown by her. And after all that, she left him to brood and hate himself, evidence being his pale and lifeless appearance.

_Itachi….._

"It was all my fault. If I hadn't been so careless and selfish, you wouldn't have been put in such a difficult situation during the funeral. I wasn't thinking straight. I understand why you took such actions during the funeral and it was all to protect and save our relationship from being exposed before our families. I shouldn't have left you these past few days alone to beat yourself up about the incident." Her voice almost cracked at the last sentence at feeling Itachi's suffering. She reached out to take Itachi's hand on the table into hers as she looked up at him with her earnest tear glazed eyes. "If anyone should be beating themselves up for what happened that day and asking for forgiveness, it shouldn't be you. It should be me. Forgive me, Itachi. Forgive me for not being there for you when you needed me the most."

She shut her eyes tight trying to hold her tears from spilling, unconsciously holding Itachi's hand in hers tighter with her overwhelming emotions.

There was silence as she struggled to get her composure, taking deep breaths to that effect.

Then there was a sigh from Itachi.

"You had it all wrong. You have had it all wrong since the beginning, haven't you?" His deep voice made her snap her head up to meet his dead gaze on her, as she tried to assimilate what he just said.

"Eh?" she blurted out in her confusion.

"I'm afraid all your deductions made earlier were wrong." He announced making the confusion on Hinata's face deepen."

"None of what happened during the funeral was your fault. I was fully aware of what I was doing and acted of my own volition." He stated in a matter of fact tone, which seemed to envelope Hinata's chest with warmth seeing Itachi's words as he being considerate and trying to comfort her.

But the shade of his eyes turned darker.

"And secondly, I didn't act the way I did during the funeral because I wanted to protect or save our relationship….. I acted the way I did at the funeral, to end this illusion we call our relationship." In a cold and levelled voice, Itachi declared.

Hinata froze at the words that just came out from Itachi's mouth. She slowly lifted her bewildered eyes full of disbelief to meet his cold lifeless ones, searching in them for the answers to the many questions rushing through her head at that moment.

_Did I just hear right, or my ears are deceiving me?_ She asked herself as she just couldn't believe those words she thought she heard just came out of Itachi's lips.

"Your ears are functioning very well and aren't deceiving you, Hinata. You heard right. I am putting an end to this relationship of ours." Itachi reverberated the words her whole system rejected with a passion.

Everything was happening too fast, she couldn't keep up to grasp the situation well. Questions she had no answers to kept ramming into her head, but there was one that stood out that made its way up her throat to ask….

"Why?" one question that summed all her confusion and bafflement of the whole situation since those words that came out of Itachi's mouth turned her world as she knew it upside down.

His eyes were empty as he stared into her confused ones still trying to reach out to him. It was no use.

"Why?...Because I am done with you." He stated nonchalantly as if those words didn't punch several holes in her heart in just that second.

She gripped unto his hand in her hands hard as she struggled not to let the cold and hurtful understanding of his words set in, but she still had questions.

"What….What is going? What are you trying to say, Itachi?"

"As you are now, penniless and with your family not posing a threat to the Uchihas as we have finally conquered your clan, I have no need of you anymore." He stated coolly with no feeling whatsoever in his voice.

She could just stare at him, wide eyed with shock as his words this time shook her to the core. She begun to tremble as dread begun to set in on how things were turning.

"Why….Why are you talking like this, Itachi?" she asked in a voice so soft and fragile afraid it would break if she talked any louder from the volcano of emotions stirring inside her. "This is unlike you."

…

"How would you know if this is unlike me or not when you have been deceiving yourself from the very beginning? The me you thought you knew was just an illusion I made you believe. This is reality. This is who I am: an Uchiha who despises Hyugas." And just like that her nightmare with the face of Itachi, resurfaced again right before her, his icy cold eyes shooting icicles into her heart and his words making her bleed.

And this time neither his father nor his family were here for her to use it as an excuse that that was what was influencing his actions. They were here alone, just the two of them at a table in a café as he sat there and tore her world apart with his words.

She started to take in deep breaths so she could try and think properly.

"It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense that you would bring our family feud up because you never cared about that." She pointed out with the little confidence she was able to muster seeing this as a fact that he couldn't deny.

"And what makes sense? Me….an Uchiha falling for a Hyuga?" the way he said it even in his monotonous voice made it sound so ridiculous it almost made Hinata's confidence falter.

"Yes! Yes because none of that mattered to us. Our families and the hatred between them….none of that mattered for us because we love each other, more than we ever thought possible. And that love we have for each other is much stronger than all that hatred between our clans." She poured out with so much passion but in the end she sounded like she was desperately trying to not only convince him but herself of that fact, when unconsciously she begun to lose hope with how dispassionately he was looking at her.

Itachi gave an exasperated sigh.

"Don't let me repeat myself, Hinata. If this would make you see things clearly then fine I would spell it out to you. I was just using you to see what information I could get that would seem helpful in conquering the Hyugas for good by the Uchihas. Everything I did in this supposed relationship of ours was to reach that goal. That's all. And now that your father is no more and we have been able to achieve our goals of finally winning this war between your family, you are of no use to me now." Every word, every single one of them that came out of his mouth shot an arrow to her already bleeding heart and it couldn't take it anymore. The shock of the excruciating pain of it all made her whole system seize to function at that moment. Raw pain was sawing through her in every direction possible. His words felt like shards of glass against her throat as she finally swallowed them, the painful conclusion now became clear as daylight that only cast her in a shadow of bottomless darkness as her battered heart begun to sink in a pool of sorrow.

Her grip on his hand unconsciously loosened, and she let him go. Her whole face seemed to be swollen and burning with tears that glazed her eyes promising to fall with the slightest movement. She held his cold empty eyes with hers filled intense agony as she made him watch as the last shred of hope departed eyes, along with hot tears rushing down her face.

She felt the walls of the room close in one her, to suffocate her. Eventhough she was choking and out of breath, she was at the moment incapable of filling her lungs with the much needed air as it seemed her lungs had collapsed in on her. It was like the weight of the whole world was crushing in on her chest and at the same time her chest felt like it wanted to explode. In her body's reflex to keep her living, a loud gasp of air escaped her lips to allow a large gush of air fill her impoverish lungs, the impact making her need her hand to support her body on the table as her violent quiver overtook her body. And this allowed more tears to fall from her face.

_Am I dying?_

Itachi pulled out his wallet to take out some bills and place them on the table.

"Before I leave, I have a favour to ask of you. In case we cross paths in the future, let's not refer to each other by our first names. It would be convenient for both of us. I hope you get what I'm trying to mean here." he then stood up and with one last glance he said "Have a good life, Hyuga san." And with that he left the table and out of the café. As he left, Hinata felt herself crumble from the inside.

_Itachi….._

* * *

"They are still not back?" Isamu Hyuga asked one of the servants setting the table.

"No please, Isamu-sama." The servant replied and with a wave of the hand was dismissed

"That impudent girl is going to hear it from me when she is back. Who does she think she is keeping us the elders waiting?" Honoka growled.

"Can't we just leave a writing of the purpose of our meeting behind and leave. We shouldn't stand for such disrespect against us." Hisao stated also very upset by Hinata's absence.

"No, we can't. its too delicate a matter to be treated casually. We need to tell her to her face. That is the least we could do after arriving at such a decision." Hironori said, with disapproval at the end of his statement which didn't go unnoticed by the other elders.

"Hironori, the decision we made, eventhough difficult was for the best, for the whole of the Hyuga clan." Isamu tried to reason with his colleague whose face was still set in disapproval.

"But isn't there any other way to go about this?" Hironori pressed again still not satisfied.

"Hironori, this is not the time to be weak hearted. We all understand where you are coming from and this is not an easy decision for any of us, but for the good of the Hyugas, we have to set such troublesome sentiments aside to come up with the best solution for the clan in its dire state. That is what makes as elders of the Hyuga clan. Do not soil that title with your indecisiveness." Eito boomed in a tone of finality, giving no room for further discussion.

Hironori just swallowed his words and remained silent with his heart filled with guilt.

Hiashi…Forgive us for what we are about to do.

_**Reviews please!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi its been a while. I should have posted this earlier but time won't permit me. This chappie is the longest I have ever written and its because I might be away for a while so its super long to appease you guys whiles I'm away. Don't forget to review**

**Chapter 5**

_It is for the best. It….it is for the best. It….._

He kept telling himself, trying to drown out any desire to entertain the thoughts of how easier things would be if he created a scenario where a car preferably a truck run him over. He kept on telling himself those words to give him the desire to live the next second and the one that followed.

But he couldn't stop her tear stained face from haunting him. He would never forget how her soul just died there right before his eyes. It was because of him and it would forever be painfully etched in his mind forever. But there was no way of going about this and it was something he had to do because…

_It was for the best._

He repeated to himself again as he finally pulled over at his apartment.

* * *

Hinata couldn't move. She would have said it was to prevent the pain from worsening with too much movement but she knew that wasn't the case here. There was nothing worse than this pain she was feeling. It was so loud she couldn't hear her thoughts nor her wildly beating heart. It was so crushing she couldn't breathe. It was just so potent she couldn't feel her body or the tears making streams down her face. All she could hear and all she could feel was pain. It was poisoning her heart and the blood in her veins, it was crawling up her throat and ripping it to pieces, depriving her of the ability to shout it out. It was gouging her eyes out and squeezing every ounce of tear in them. It was eating her very soul.

And the pain had a name.

Itachi.

Another shock wave of more pain took over her body making her shudder at his name. She was so immersed and lost in it all that she was unaware of her surroundings but at least she didn't have to worry about she breaking to pieces before the eyes of the people in the café since she was in a booth, free to crumble in her privacy.

They say the truth makes everything seem like a lie, as she felt a piece of herself break when she takes her mind to all those times they shared, all those wonderful moments they had, all those times she was promised of his love for her with just a look in his eyes, now all being turned empty lies within just a few minutes, all these wonderful moments crushed with just a few sentences.

"_Everything I did in this supposed relationship of ours was to reach that goal. That's all. And now that your father is no more and we have been able to achieve our goals of finally winning this war between our families, you are of no use to me now."_

Those words sawed her insides into half. It was too much and her body was giving way. She was losing her bearings and her balance, letting her head fall heavily on the table. But instead off that knocking her out cold, it rather made blood rush into her head to make her start to grasp the basic functioning of her body to think.

That was when her mind went back to when they made love last time at the lake house. How he kissed her. How he held her so tenderly yet so possessively to him. There was something different about him and about how he made love to her this time. If anything it was more intense, more longing, more passionately…like it was truly their last time.

_But then if the last time didn't mean anything to him like he had made clear earlier, why the intensity, why the passion, why the longing?_

Hinata let the tears stop to let her see and think more clearly as she was beginning to pick up things she let slip her by.

She remembered how after they were done, he continued to hold her so tightly to him, reluctant to let her go. He held her so tight she felt how wildly his heart was beating against her chest and the slight tremble of his arms holding her.

Her body was suddenly renewed with strength to lift her head up at the sudden realisation that hit her.

The tongue could lie all it wanted, but not the heart. Upon all the guilt she felt about their time at the lake, it rather opened her eyes to something.

Itachi loved her and still did which only meant he was lying for reason.

Hinata's heart was beating rapidly at being resurrected with hope again. She wiped her face and shot to her feet, quickly making her way to the exit.

She had to know why he was lying.

* * *

_Why is Itachi still acting like a bitch?_

Sasuke cut the call before it could reach voice mail and threw the phone somewhere in the passenger seat with irritation.

"Why am I even still doing this?" he seethed through clenched teeth.

His patience was running thin.

Itachi was still not picking his calls or anyone's for that matter and to add insult to the injury he was stuck in traffic because he was chosen as the Messiah to go to Itachi's apartment to find out if he was alive if not bring him back to life. Eventhough that was not how things were said exactly, that's how it played out in Sasuke's mind.

He honked his horn loudly eventhough he knew it wasn't time to move yet.

Everyone knew Sasuke was impatient. If you didn't know, ask his employees. They had written a book about it. So he still didn't understand why he had to go and sweet talk his brother from his recent monk lifestyle.

They would argue that it was because he was his little brother.

_So?_

It was because he was his little brother that's why he knew that all this was unnecessary and a waste of his time because he knew the rare times Itachi got like this, all he needed was space and time and he would bounce back to life like nothing happened.

_His father should know this but well that goes to show how much he knew any of his sons._

Yoshino though was a different story. All she probably knew about Itachi was limited to the workplace. That's why she surprised him with her sudden call, and he must say he was pleasantly surprised eventhough it was to ask of her boss which was understandable. But well he couldn't stop the frown lines on his face from smoothening out to accommodate a triumphant smirk when he remembered the continuation of their conversation on the phone:

"**He isn't picking mine either."**

"**But have you been to his place…..to check on him?"**

"**No…even though I'm entertaining that thought but not too fondly and without motivation."**

…

"**Could you please go…for me?" **

**Sasuke grinned deviously at this.**

"**And what would you do….for me, Yoshino?"**

**She huffed. "But he is your brother."**

"**I'm still not motivated."**

**He could hear an exasperated sigh from the other end of the line.**

"**Fine. What do you want?"**

**Sasuke's grin broadened. "A lot…..but let's start with a date."**

"…"

"**Yoshino?"**

"**Fine. But just one date." The reluctance was thick in her voice but it only fed to his excitement.**

"**Deal."**

….

At last he got the mighty Yoshino where he wanted.

_Who knew Itachi's BS was finally going to land me a date with her?_

It made his impatience aggravate as he was pumped up to go to his brother's place more than ever.

His dark eyes shone deviously.

_Just one date she says. That's more than enough for me to get you where I want, Yoshino._

…..

* * *

After the phone was done ringing, Itachi turned it off and dropped it on the counter. He took another long swig of water in hopes of replenishing and giving life back to his dead weight body. He was ok with it being dead, that way he won't feel it and it won't gnaw him as much. It was the heaviness that came along with it that he felt uncomfortable with. He trudged out of the kitchen to shed some of that heaviness in his couch.

The doorbell echoed in his living room, which made him halt putting his plans of relaxation into action. He just stood there staring at the door blankly silently willing whoever it was behind the door to disappear.

The doorbell was rang again.

He sighed.

When he thought of how he had to drag his body to the door, he almost resigned to his couch as planned but his curiosity took the better of him and he found himself taking heavy steps towards the door, but at the back of his mind had made no plans of inviting the person after finding out who it was.

Finally he was before his door and pushed a button on his door bell camera to reveal who was behind the door.

And then…..he felt something hit him in the chest at the sight of the person behind the door. It was probably the many questions hitting him at the same time at the image on the screen that his widened eyes held.

_How did she get here so fast?_

_Why was she here?_

_What was she doing here?_

This wasn't how he played things out in his head. This was not what was supposed to happen.

She shouldn't be here.

He didn't want to see her.

But as soon as his eyes fell on her, it was like his whole body stopped functioning and all he could do was stand there and stare, despite being alarmed and his conflicting thoughts.

He crushed her and left her broken and in tears like how it was supposed to. So then why was she back up on feet standing here before his door looking so determined and with such hope in her eyes he thought he had successfully made nonsense of?

The sound of the doorbell jolted him from his thoughts to fixate his eyes on the woman on his screen …..in a whole new light.

Hinata rang the door for a third time and stood there waiting for the door to open which never did. She knew he was there. Just after she alighted from the cab, the first place she went was the car park of the building which was accommodating Itachi's car so she knew he was in his apartment.

She was about to jab the doorbell again with her finger but stopped and changed her mind to knocking the door hard and suitably loud.

But like before there was no response.

She knocked harder this time.

"Itachi, I know you are in there…..we need to talk." She called out to him this time but like before no response.

Frustration was beginning to set in.

"Itachi…..why won't you open the door? ...why…..why won't you talk to me?"

Desperation followed. She placed her forehead on the door.

"I know…. I know there is something…there is a reason you are like this, and it is probably why you can't talk straight with me. Then…then you don't have to talk. I would do all the talking… all I want is to see you and for you to hear me out." Her voice was thick and raw with emotions trying to hold back the tears as she spoke.

She closed her eyes and waited for any signs or sound of the door about to be open. She stood there and waited, but nothing.

She clenched her shaky fist hard as she swallowed the painful teary lump lodged in her throat. She moved back from the door to stare hard and determinedly at it.

"Fine. If you won't come out I will wait for you here then." With those final words she moved closer to the wall facing the door to lean her back on it, as she made herself comfortable on the floor to face the door blocking her from Itachi.

_I am going nowhere till I see you, Itachi._

…..

* * *

Itachi's face was grim as he watched her sit there waiting for him. He didn't want to see her. He didn't want her here. He didn't want to talk or hear her out. Whatever exchange he deemed necessary between them was done at the café.

_Why couldn't she get this? Or did I break something else apart from her heart?_

He absolutely wanted her out of here. He didn't want to imagine if anyone especially his dad came around to see her here.

He needed to get her out of here but to do that he had to get to his phone in the kitchen.

So why was his body not budging to the instructions from his brain to move towards the kitchen and instead remain rooted where he stood with his eyes fixated and not moving a second from her?

He knew why and that was the more reason he had to get her out of here. Mustering a lot of effort he was surprised he had in his current flaccid state, he made it to the kitchen to pick up his phone and switched it on. With his phone back to life, he checked his contacts hoping that someway somehow he had that guy's number. He never thought there would be a day where he would be glad he had anything to remind him of that guy. He tapped call on his screen and after a few rings it was answered.

Before he could talk, Itachi cut him to it.

"If you hadn't failed in your duties as her bodyguard, I wouldn't be forced to make such an unpleasant call. I hope you wouldn't fail to remove her from my door in no time." With those crisp biting words he ended the call not giving him the chance to retort. After the call, like his feet had a mind of its own, they took him back to the door…to watch her.

….

* * *

Ko had to hold himself with unspeakable strength to stop him from breaking his phone in his anger.

_That bloody Uchiha_…..

He quickly made a u- turn to join the road going in the opposite direction. He had been looking for Hinata all day only to receive a blasted phone call from that man and have his whole day wrecked by it to find out she was at his apartment. And what aggravated his anger was his tone and…

"_I hope you wouldn't fail to __**remove**__ her from my door in no time."_

_Remove her?! Upon all the verbs at his disposal to use….remove her? Had that Uchiha bastard gone mad? How dare he refer to Hinata-sama like she were thing?!_

Ko grounded his teeth hard and was breathing fire. He stepped on his accelerator to shoot the car forward at insane speed.

_What I'm going to remove is that rotten tongue of yours you used to refer to Hinata-sama like that, you swine!_

* * *

…..

It's been almost an hour of them being like this.

She sitting on the floor outside waiting for him to come out and he standing behind his door watching her.

Now he was watching her sleep. He watched as some of her hair fell on her face as her head tilted slightly in her slumber. On instinct he reached out his hand to clear them off her face, only for his fingers to be met by the coldness of the screen.

He sighed.

He really needed to get her out of there.

He finally open the door as noiselessly as possible so as not to wake Hinata up and stepped out into the corridor. He stood there seemingly hesitant to approach her at first, but still found his legs moving him towards her. He stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets glaring at her sleeping peacefully despite all she was putting him through with her being here.

More strands of hair joined the ones splayed on her face making Itachi's hand twitch in his pockets.

"You are such a troublesome woman." Itachi muttered under his breath.

He bent down so he would be at face level with her. And he knew he was tying a rope around his neck and was about to hang himself by doing that as hand was already out of his pocket inching close to her. This time he had no screen or door blocking him from reaching her.

But he came back to his senses in time to stop in his tracks. Like how fast, he retracted his hand from her and stood away from her, so did his features in returning to that of cold indifference. Without giving her a second glance he turned and was already making his way back to his apartment when the elevator doors opened. And behold, with smoke coming out from his ears and breathing fire was a furious Ko bursting out of the elevator, out for blood.

Itachi's to be precise.

With his eyes already locked on his prey, he was at the verge of sprinting to make his kill. Whether it was Ko's thunderous steps towards Itachi or she unconsciously sensing Itachi was in danger by the sheer monstrous killer intent oozing out from Ko, Hinata suddenly woke up just in time to see Ko approaching Itachi with a murderous aura all directed towards him. Without wasting a second to stretch out the grogginess, her body instantly went autopilot, to throw herself in Ko's path and grab him still by his shirt and arm as soon as he got closer to prevent him from getting to Itachi and putting his homicidal thoughts into action. This proved to be very difficult for Hinata to keep up as he was stronger, larger than her and was angry. Scratch that. He was raging mad. She looked up at him pleadingly at the brink of tears to beg him to stop, but that proved futile since he had his glare fixated on Itachi.

"Ko please stop, I beg of you." The way her voice cracked at the end made him finally turn his attention to his mistress looking up at him with big teary eyes desperately begging him. He was now angry at himself because at the sight of his lady like this, he found all his needed anger dissipating and his resolve to put Itachi in his place breaking. He was desperately trying to fight it by glaring at Itachi whose nonchalance was enough to fuel his anger, but Hinata's hold over him was more powerful.

He cursed under his breath at his missed chance.

"I have always loved how the leash is able to show distinction between master and underling." Itachi's deep voice was heard behind them prompting the Hyugas to turn to see him leaning on the wall with his arms loosely crossed giving them a bored look. He then shifted his gaze to fully stare at Ko and continued.

"I must say I'm quite impressed at how she is able to expertly use a leash on even the likes of you. I'm glad I learnt from the best, which has greatly helped in the Uchihas finally putting a leash on the Hyugas."

And that was the push Ko needed to be back to breathing fire again.

"Oh yeah, then let me you show the real reason why I'm on a leash, you swine!" he easily slipped through Hinata's hold and almost made it to Itachi but Hinata managed grabbed him in place by the torso, encircling her arms tightly around him.

"Please Ko! Please stop!"

"But why should I, Hinata-sama? Are you just going watch him talk like that about our clan? This bastard needs to be taught a lesson for how he referred to you and how he is talking about our clan!"

"Oh…so that why you are so cross? About me telling you to remove her from here? Isn't that your duty?" Itachi asked coolly unfazed by Ko's fury.

"I am not angry because of that. What I want to punch your face for is for your impudence for using the word 'remove' in reference to a lady like Hinata-sama like she were a mere thing." Ko fumed and this caught Hinata's attention realising and understanding why Ko was so angry. There was a painful jab in her chest at the realisation which hurt the more when she lifted her eyes tearfully at Itachi to only see him regard her with indifference and no apology in his eyes.

He closed his eyes as he sighed inaudibly. He opened his eyes to slowly regard Hinata from head to toe and back up again as if trying to finding why Ko was so angry about what he said.

He then shifted them back to Ko with mild curiosity in his eye as he cocked his head to the side.

"I honestly don't see the err in my words." He said in a matter of fact tone.

Hinata flinched at how his words stung her ruthlessly. And Ko had felt it. His body shook with rage. Hinata's sadness at Itachi's words made her grip loosen enough around Ko and in his rage, he burst out of her grasp to finally reach Itachi with his fist in the air ready to deliver a mighty punch to Itachi's indifferent face.

"You filthy basta-" But before Ko's punch could reach him, his arm was caught by Hinata using both arms.

Amidst her being visibly shaken by Itachi's words, she held Ko's gaze firmly with hers.

"That's enough. We are leaving." She said in a tone of finality.

"But Hinata-sa-"

"I said that's enough!" Hinata burst out in frustration, shutting her eyes tight to prevent tears from spilling.

Ko heard how her voice cracked and how her breathing became laboured. He knew her eyes were shut from taking a look at her source of pain at the moment, Itachi, which would only let her end up in pitiful tears. He could feel how her arms shook around his as a result of being this close to Itachi, in spite of trying to hold herself together.

Ko hated it.

He hated this strange hold Itachi had over Hinata. He hated the indifference oozing from Itachi's face showing his carelessness of the state his demeanour had put Hinata in. It gave him more reason to just use his free hand to screw Itachi's face up. But they had to leave. He had to get his lady out of her before she completely broke before the Uchiha. He knew she was pleading with him to take her away with her uncharacteristic outburst.

Ko suck in a breath sharply. With one last scornful glare at Itachi, he turned to put his hand on Hinata's shoulder, prompting her to open her eyes to look up at him.

"Shall we, Hinata-sama?" he asked in a tightly controlled voice.

Her eyes fell to her feet as she stood there unmoving, clenching her fist as if indecisive on whether to leave or not.

Her lips were burning with unsaid words but quivered at the cruel ones said to her by the man she loves. She gingerly turned on her heel, blinking back her tears away to wear a straight face.

"Yes." She answered stiffly and had already taken a step to make emphasis.

Ko joined her, and with a few steps they were at elevators waiting for the doors to open all along with Itachi watching them, the doors then opened and Hinata stepped in first but before Ko also stepped in, he turned to glare at Itachi, promising him it wasn't over yet before joining Hinata in the elevators, making their downward departure.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Itachi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

_It is…. for the best._

* * *

…

He closed the door for her as soon as she settled herself in the backseat, and joined her in the car in the driver's seat. They sat in silence, silence that spoke volumes.

Ko was breathing heavily from trying to calm down the rage burning inside whiles even the faintest sound of Hinata breathing could not be heard. He lifted his eyes to the rear view mirror. She looked frozen. He knew she was struggling to keep the little that was left of her composure, struggling to hold the tears back.

He clenched his fist.

Seeing her like this because of that man drove him mad with fury.

But it all didn't make sense. Eventhough a part of him saw something like this coming, which was borne from his hatred for the Uchihas as a Hyuga, this was the first time he hated to say 'I told you so'. But there was a part of him that never saw this coming, that part that he absolutely hated but couldn't help but believe Uchiha Itachi truly loved his lady.

That's what fuelled his anger because one thing Ko knew he could pride himself with being perceptive which helped him rarely get the rug swept from under his feet.

He didn't want to believe an Uchiha made a fool out of him of accepting and believing his feelings for his lady was true, despite his strong aversion and distrust for his kind.

It would be a spit in the face of his pride as a Hyuga and to his ego.

And he wasn't going to allow it.

All of sudden Hinata heard the door open snapping her back to earth to see Ko stepping outside.

She was confused.

"Ko, what's going on?"

But all she got was the door being shut and the car locks automatically locked.

Hinata was puzzled.

"Ko wh-" her heart skipped when she lifted her eyes to meet Ko's, to see a look she dreaded.

She shook her head.

"No."

Ko pressed a button on the car keys to allow the backseat windows to be lowered a bit to serve as Hinata's source of air supply and to lock all the doors.

And then he turned to make his way back to the building and back to Itachi's apartment to Hinata's horror.

She threw herself to the doors trying to open them which proved futile.

This was not good. The look in Ko's eyes wasnot good. Ko and Itachi alone with tempers and tensions at their peeks was never good.

Her thoughts went wild as she was stuck in the car and could only watch as what she feared was unfolding before her.

She couldn't take. So much had happened and so much had hit her in these days that had passed and she couldn't take any more. She couldn't take the idea of Itachi or Ko hurting each other. She couldn't bear it.

She hit her hands against the glass making her hands red and sore.

"Ko! Ko! Don't do this! Ko!" Hinata cried out desperately after Ko.

But all her cries fell on deaf ears as Ko disappeared into the building.

Hinata bit her lower lip in anguish, being left helplessly to only wait and pray her fears do not happen.

* * *

Itachi stood outside even after the Hyugas had gone and things had died down. He still stood outside because his frozen innards yearned for the burn of hard liquor and the feeling of bliss that came with it, but he wasn't supposed to have one. So in hopes of suppressing the urge, he stood outside knowing very well as soon as he got inside the thought of drinking water would never cross his mind and would make a straight beeline to his mini bar. After what had ensued, water would do nothing for him. He leaned his head back unto the wall. His body was propped on and he closed his eyes to take deep breaths to calm his mind down.

But his little therapy was cut short by the sound of elevator doors opening followed by the unceremonious entrance of Ko. Again.

Itachi shot down he urge to rub his temples.

"I thought we were done here." Itachi stated unenthusiastically.

Ko stopped when he was at a respectable distance from Itachi. His face was serious but seemed calmer down than before except the anger still burning in the depths of his eyes, which gave away his internal struggle in suppressing it.

"You and Hinata sama were done. But you and I have just started." His tone promised Itachi a great deal of pain if he didn't cooperate. Itachi's total indifference showed that either he was not aware that, or plainly didn't care.

"Oh?" Itachi let out half-heartedly with a cock of his head to the side.

Ko took in a deep breath as if to calm himself down.

"Look…before I left the burial grounds, Hinata sama was standing on her own two feet with her head held high even before the Hyuga elders. And then I heard you came there, and from then, Hinata sama totally shut herself from the world, from everyone and everything. And all of a sudden she is missing and I can't find her only to receive a call from you, telling me to _remove_ her from here."

Ko's voice shook with rage at the word 'remove' and had to stop to calm down before he continued.

"Now I come here, only to see the Hinata sama who seemed unstoppable even at her father's funeral now at the verge of breaking at the mere presence of you, and you won't even look at her or acknowledge her presence."

His chest was now heaving heavily as he paused to take in calming breaths before he continued.

"I do not know what happened at the funeral or today. All I know is that the Hinata sama I know is not the one I have been with these past few days and I need to know why."

There was silence after Ko was done and from the slightest twitch he saw from Itachi and a ghost of something pass through his eyes, Ko took it as Itachi was still trying to chew on all he had said.

"From what I understand from all that you just said, her change in demeanour bothers you, so then why are you asking me instead of asking her directly?" Itachi asked in a guise of confusion.

"It is because your change in behaviour has caused this change in her." Ko was barely able to let his words out without yelling at Itachi in frustration. "Aren't you the one that is supposed to make happy? Aren't you the one person she can run to when she needs to feel safe when her whole world is falling apart? So…. I do not understand…I can't wrap my mind around the fact that today she stands before you and she looks like she would crumble any second. I do not understand why you are being a jackass to her in the first place when she needs you the most!"

This time Ko yelled his guts out, which seemed to knock Itachi with surprise a second there. But soon composed himself to school his features back to neutral.

"If it was my duty to do all that you said when I was with her, then you hold nothing against me now that I am not."

Ko froze.

"What…What was that?" Ko could barely get his words out straight.

"Hinata and I are no more." Itachi declared stonily and in finality.

Ko was knocked out cold with shock.

"W-Why?" Ko was even surprised by how he was shaken by the news.

Itachi blinked at him.

"Why…..because I am done with her." He stated coldly like it was nothing.

Ko couldn't believe what he was hearing right now.

"What do you mean by you are done with Hinata sama?" Ko voice had unconsciously taken a lower and deadlier tone.

Itachi made sure he held his gaze before he opened his mouth to utter the words to answer Ko's question.

"I have no use of her, so she has to go."

Ko could only stare into Itachi's soulless eyes as his unfeeling words kept reverberating in his head and the more he did, the more the pit of his stomach stirred to brew a new, deadlier and igniting rage than before.

"And what was her use?" Ko's voice was lethal and dripped with raw murderous intent.

And as usual, Itachi was totally unfazed by it.

"To provide whatever information was necessary to bring the Hyuga to their knees."

And those words broke whatever restraint Ko was exercising which resulted in him finally exploding with anger.

"You filthy bastard!" Ko burst out in his fury and closed the distance between them to grab Itachi by the collar. Itachi didn't even blink at this and just stared at him blankly.

"You…..you broke up with Hinata sama just after her father's death?! Have you gone mad?" Ko boomed in total indignation.

Itachi just stared back.

"I'm surprised. I thought you would be happy about our break up. Isn't this what you always wanted?" Itachi inquired.

"Not like this! Not at a time like this!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"When then?"

Ko balked.

"Were you this impatient to do away with Hinata sama this much?"

"I thought I had made that quite clear earlier."

Ko tightened his hold on Itachi at this.

"You bastard!" he cursed.

"You aren't taking this news as well as I anticipated." Itachi just cocked his head to the side as his eyes darkened with a certain deviousness. "Could it be you didn't want us to break up in the first place?"

Ko could only ground his teeth with his mouth shut as no words came out.

Itachi's eyes were now not hiding its deviousness.

"Could it be that she wasn't the only one I got to and fooled but also the mighty bodyguard who has an equally mighty repulsion for Uchihas like me?"

A nerve snapped inside Ko and now he was like a raging bull with everything he sets his eyes on in the colour red. And Itachi seemed to be in the brightest shade of red since he was the centre of his rage and had already lifted his fist that promised a devastating punch to Itachi's face.

"You son of a b-" But he was cut by his arm getting caught before connecting to Itachi's face. Again. In that instant he thought it was Hinata and wondered how she was able to get out of the car. But the hold on his hand manly and crushing unlike Hinata's.

"Let me make two things clear to you." A male voice said from Ko's side prompting him to turn to meet icy midnight orbs boring holes into his head.

If not for some subtle differences here and there, he could have been looking at a slightly younger version of Itachi.

Instead of long flowing dark locks, his were shorter, spiky at the back and pitch black. So were his eyes which were darker and less slanted than Itachi's. His face was without Itachi's signature troughs and eventhough his nose was pointed it was less pronounced than Itachi's. His lips were chiselled whereas Itachi's was fuller. His complexion was pale compared to Itachi's tan skin. He was tall but about an inch or less, shorter than Itachi.

With his black hair and eye colour to match with the right amount of coldness in them, he was a certified Uchiha in Ko's head and was already barring his teeth at him.

"#1 Even I haven't got a shot at punching this guy so no one especially a Hyuga should dare attempt taking my gold."

And then he narrowed his eyes increasing the ice in them.

"#2 You were lucky I saved you earlier from committing verbal suicide because no one insults my mother and takes his next breath, you son of a bitch!"

Sasuke's hold was now bone crushing making Ko have to hold himself from flinching to put on a strong front. Sasuke could see his struggle and gave a sarcastic smirk.

"I can see you get it already."

He then turned to Itachi to give him a reprimanding look.

"Now would have been a good time to punch you. Were seriously going to let this loser insult mum and punch you in the face? Are you on drugs?"

"It's good to see you too, little brother." Itachi said dryly.

"Really, you are changing the subject. I should have just taken a pic of his scene and sent it to Dad and we would see how you would change the subject with him then." Sasuke threatened.

"Sasuke, we both know you aren't in the best position to rat anyone out."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Oh ye-"

"If you know what's good for you, you would get your filthy hands off me and let men handle their issue, boy." Ko cut in to snap at Sasuke, infuriated at how they were conversing and acting like he didn't even exist or was standing right before their eyes, and now Sasuke had managed to garner his anger within this short period for interrupting his fine opportunity on marking Itachi's face with his fist like he had always wanted.

Sasuke's eyes twitched erratically at the word 'boy' as he turned to fix Ko with his infamous death glare.

"You couldn't possibly be referring to me." The deadly tone of Sasuke gave Ko a warning he was never going to heed.

"Do I need to spell it out for you to understand?" Ko scoffed at Sasuke.

"Do you even know how to spell?" Sasuke shot back earning a glare from Ko.

"How dare you! Unlike you Uchihas, even those who serve the main branch of the Hyugas are educated and refined." Ko defended fiercely.

"So you mean you are a servant who knows how to read, write…..and probably spell." Sasuke sneered with a mocking smirk on his face.

Ko was now itching to punch him instead.

"Do not let me repeat myself, whelp." Ko his through clenched teeth.

Sasuke's patience had run out.

He used his free hand to grab Ko by the collar.

"You piece of shit! Call me that again, just one more time and will rip out that tongue of yours." Sasuke lashed out at Ko.

And Ko had had it with Sasuke grabbing him anyhow and his insults.

"Did I not tell you to unhand me, brat!" Ko threw back ferociously and he let his anger take over and before he knew it a hand of his was again already balled into a fist. And aiming for Sasuke's face.

But as much his urge to punch someone was at an all-time high today, it seemed it was never meant to happen as again he was denied of his kill. His punch was stopped and with Sasuke still trying to break his arm in his grasp, Ko realised this was the hand previously grabbing Itachi.

And now he has released him to punch Sasuke only to be stop by Itachi.

Sasuke's hold was bone crushing. Itachi's could break a soul.

Ko knew if it wasn't for his pride as a Hyuga holding him together, he would have been crying like a girl.

Itachi face was no more passive but hard with intensity and his stone cold gaze holding Ko's could put Medusa out of business.

"As it is clearly obvious that now you are outnumbered, it is advisable youu leave now, don't you think?" Itachi's voice was calm and levelled but that was what made his words sound even more menacing like a death threat.

"Tch, he was already outnumbered when he dare to face me." Sasuke scoffed at Itachi words.

But the other two men didn't pay attention as they were engaged in a fierce staring contest, with so many unspoken words passed between them as they battled for who could stand their ground.

But Ko was no idiot and knew very well when the wisest thing is to retreat eventhough it made your ego feel like shit.

With heavy reluctance, he let Sasuke go as his way of surrendering for now, but not without a shove of retaliation, that equally riled Sasuke to also have his turn of retaliation but Itachi let go of Ko's hand to stop Sasuke in his tracks.

But Sasuke who was still holding Ko's arm continued to hold on to it in response to his thirst to payback for the shove.

Itachi moved his eyes to Sasuke's hand stubbornly holding unto Ko's arm, and then moved them to Sasuke's face.

"Sasuke."

"What?!" Sasuke snapped back and turn to throw a glare at his brother knowing very well what Itachi wanted him to do, which added to his annoyance.

Sasuke instantly knew he had made a mistake the second he met his brother's gaze as he found himself pinned down by his brother's almighty stare, which had his stubborn resolve already depleted by half.

Sasuke hated it.

Not one to go down without a fight, he glared back at his older brother in defiance before shoving Ko's hand roughly to him.

"Whatever." He spat before throwing a "you are lucky" look at Ko.

Ko dusted an invisible dirt at the part were Sasuke held as if to dust off any Uchiha DNA off him. He then lifted his eyes to lock eyes with Itachi as he stepped closer, making Sasuke on reflex move in alarm but was stopped by Itachi lifting his arm to block Sasuke's way without breaking eye contact with Ko who was now face to face with him practically breathing the same air with him. Ko then tilted his head so his mouth was close to Itachi's ear.

"For your own sake, do not forget its over between you and her, but also remember it's not over between you and I." with his voice not missing a beat of murderous intent even being delivered at low decibels only for Itachi's ears,and a last glare for each Uchiha, he turned on his heels and left, disappearing behind the elevator doors.

Left behind on the corridor was Itachi still staring at the elevators Ko had just entered into and Sasuke looking at his older brother with a weird look on his face.

"Are there any plans of us going inside or we are going stay here watching how an elevator works?" Sasuke's voice seemed to bring Itachi back to the world of the living to turn to blink at his brother.

"You actually came here to see me? I thought you probably had one of your girlfriends here you came to see." Itachi look genuinely shocked but Sasuke knew Itachi well enough to know he was messing with him.

Sasuke shot a dagger at him with his glare in retaliation.

"#1. I do not have girlfriends. I have women. And #2. I won't have a woman on the floor you live in or even in this building much more a girlfriend." Sasuke pointed out grimly which only caused Itachi's dull eyes to lit up with amusement which promised mischief.

"Do I pose that much of a threat to you, little brother?"

This time Sasuke shot a barrage of daggers at Itachi.

"For a hermit you are quite the cocky one." Sasuke threw back as Itachi shook his head walking past him to unlock the door to his apartment.

After he finally opened the door, Itachi turned to Sasuke, the amusement and mischief in his eyes not lost.

"So am I right to assume you came here because you missed your older brother?"

Sasuke knew what Itachi was doing. He was trying to take his mind off what had just ensued. Shaking his head, he made his way to the opened door being offered to him.

"I don't think so because that older brother doesn't exist. I need a drink." And with that Sasuke made his way into the apartment.

…..

* * *

Eventhough the glass was tinted and he couldn't see her, he could feel her glare from inside. But he was too angry to care.

He swiftly made his way around to the driver's door, to open the door to sit in after he had unlocked the doors. The weather in the car was chilly and he knew it wasn't the AC.

She was angry. She was angry at him.

And so was he. He was also angry at her. He was angry that she was angry at him. He was angry about all that he had found out today. He was angry at how she had fallen so much for an Uchi-

"What did you do?"Hinata's voice was searing ice. She was beyond livid and knew if Ko had come a few minutes earlier she would have probably gotten physical with him.

_How could he lock me inside the car in that manner? How could he just go round making decisions about my life? How could he, upon all she was going through cause me so much anguish and fright at the thought of him and Itachi hurting themselves?_

_How could he-_

There was a sudden bitter chuckle from Ko that made Hinata almost cringe at it sourness.

"It's always him. IT. HAS. ALWAYS. BEEN. HIM." Then his voice started getting higher. "It is he you only see so you can't see your world falling apart around you. He is all you see so you can't see how low you have sunk because of him! It is he you only see so you can't see how you have completely lost yourself, going against everything, everything that makes you a lady and an heiress of the main house of the Hyugas ,everything that makes your father's memory live on….all for that Uchiha and even after he is throwing you away, HE IS ALL YOU SEE! He is all you see so you can't….you can't see the people who really care for you and how they are hurting because of what you have become because of an Uchiha!"

Ko had to now pant in order to get enough air into his lungs. Hinata could only watch her bodyguard, driver and confidante, with wide eyes as he struggled to breathe from his emotional outburst. She had never seen Ko like this before. She never thought she would. And the words that came out from his mouth….each word ripped a piece of her away. She blinked to recover from the shock to also start breathing just realising she had forgot to breathe earlier. But the breathing seemed to fan fire to the pain inside.

She knew she had pushed Ko this far. She knew she had abandoned everything and everyone around her just to focus on Itachi. She knew it was all her fault but….

"Can't you see…can't you see the only thing holding me together after my father's death….is him? Can't you see the only thing shielding the pain of father's death and Hanabi's current state from killing me is him?!"Hinata's chest was also beginning to boil with rage as hot tears brimmed her eyes when Ko's words kept stabbing her in the chest even as she spoke.

Ko couldn't take it anymore. He whipped his head around to pin her down with his blazing angry eyes.

"You asked me what I did? I went up there to hear it for myself from the bastard's own mouth. He doesn't love you and he never did!"

At those words, Hinata could no longer hold the tears from burning down her cheeks.

"Y-You are lying." She refused to believe Ko's words and it made him mad.

He grabbed her by the arm so she could face him and look him straight in the eyes.

"Can you look at yourself in the mirror and not balk at what you have become because of that man, huh?! Do you not realise you are spitting on your father's grave by going after that man whose family caused the death of your father? Can't you see because of him since you have received your father's autopsy days ago, for more than a week, you still have not been able to open the envelope?!I am lying you say. If I am then why are you crying, huh? Can't you see your tears are to testify the fact that I speak the truth when I say he has never loved you?!" Ko lashed out this time without mercy, not caring if his fingers dug too deep into her soft skin to leave marks with his iron grip, not caring his words would devour her and crush what was left of her soul.

He would rather crush her with the truth than watch her self-destruct with lies.

He still held her teary eyes as her face seemed to be a second from splitting into two right before him eventhough it in turn would also break his heart into pieces to see her like this as a result of his words.

But it was for the best.

Then out of nowhere, Hinata's face suddenly hardened to hold Ko's eyes with her cold ones.

"After losing my father and now at the verge of losing my little sister from the shock of father''s death, the belief in the love Itachi and I have for each other is what moves me to get out of bed, it is what makes me take the next breath and it is what gives me something to fight for in life in spite of my situation seeming hopeless. Without that the world that I know of and all I have ever believed in would shatter to pieces. I am not crying because of him. I am crying because you who has my utmost trust and you being someone so important to me can't see how you making my world crumble with your words. I am crying because of Hyuga" And after those words served on ice, she removed Ko's hand from her and turned from him, which prevented her from seeing the guilt settle on Ko's features after taking in her words. He watch in remorse as she wiped her tears off her cold face like it wasn't her tears.

In the long run he had made her cry. What was the difference between him and the Uchiha then if he also was the one who was to protect her from anything that would cause her any tears? Had he also lost himself such that he had given up on his lady and made his anger dictate its own truth to him?

Ko lifted his hand to reach Hinata in his guilt.

"Hinat-"

"Please take me home." The crisp cold finality of her words cut him short and stopped his hand mid-air from reaching her. She didn't even spare him a single glance as she fixated her icy eyes out the window where she couldn't see him.

Ko with one last longing look, swallowed his apology and settled himself well in the driver's seat to start the car, and send them back to the Hyuga mansion.

….

* * *

"What was that out there? What was he doing here and why didn't you let me at him?" Sasuke demanded after taking a large gulp of his whiskey in hopes of calming his rage from his altercation with Ko. It wasn't working.

He received silence in reply for an answer to his questions which prompted him to walk from the minibar to the living room to see his brother stretched out on the couch with his head resting on his arms folded behind it and his eyes closed.

Sasuke's eye twitched in impatience.

"Well?"

Itachi sighed like the thought of answering his little brother was tiring.

But he never did.

"What brings you here, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eye twitched faster in growing irritation. He was totally ignoring his question like he never asked it in the first place.

"You realise you are yet to answer my question." Sasuke pointed out.

"…So do you." Itachi simply replied not even bothering to open his eyes to acknowledge his brother's presence.

Sasuke was going to throw back the fact he asked his question first but he knew Itachi was going to find a way to debunk his claim just to avoid answering his question for God knows why.

Sasuke just took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he made himself comfortable in the couch opposite Itachi.

"Can't I visit my own brother?"

This made Itachi finally open his eyes to throw Sasuke a weird look.

Sasuke smirked at getting the reaction he was looking for.

Itachi further cocked an eyebrow meaningfully, to tell Sasuke he knew he was hiding something and to let it out.

Sasuke just gave up not wanting to prolong matters as he knew it was futile hiding anything before Itachi's hawk like eyes.

"Fine, dad asked me to check if you were still alive."

Itachi stiffened almost unnoticeably at the mention of their father. He was hoping his guess right.

But Sasuke's sharp eyes did not miss that second of reaction from his brother.

His face became serious holding his brother's eyes steadily with his.

"What's up between you and dad? Everything about the both of you especially about you has been fishy since the death of that Hiashi guy. Your whole disappearance and more so that presence of that asshole from earlier here is more than enough to raise eyebrows."

Itachi found himself taken aback by his brother's bluntness and had to take more than a second to gain his composure. Well he should expect this from Sasuke knowing he wasn't one to mince words.

Itachi returned to resting his head in his folded arms with his eyes closed.

"You seem to have a lot of free time on your hand now to have observed so much. I can't help but think it's probably due to the population of your fanclub diminishing. You should pay more attention to your women." Itachi said casually, throwing off the topic at hand completely.

But Sasuke wasn't going to let him.

"You realise throwing off the question and not answering it makes you look even fishier."

Yes, Itachi had forgotten another fact about his little brother: he wasn't an idiot.

Even in the silence that fell between them, Itachi could feel his brother's demanding gaze on him with his eyes closed. Sasuke had caught on a lot, more than what Itachi was comfortable with.

Without moving from his position and with his eyes closed, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Do you think I killed Hiashi Hyuga?" after his words was done ringing in the room, Itachi open his eyes to see Sasuke face frozen with complete confusion and dumbfoundment, he was completely thrown off by Itachi's question.

"W-What the hell are you talking about Itachi?" Sasuke had to struggle to speak as the shock of the many troubling thoughts running through his head by Itachi's words were crippling his ability to speak.

_He didn't want to believe. It can't-_

A teasing smirk tugged the corner of Itachi's lips.

"I'm kidding." He said releasing his brother from the chains of the horrifying thoughts assaulting his mind.

Sasuke's heart was now put to rest but glared at Itachi, miffed that he was messing with him. But there was still something nagging him at the back of his mind.

"Itachi?"

"Hn?"

Sasuke hesitated but his urge for answers was stronger.

"….Dad….do you think he knows anything….about that man's death?"

This time Itachi was able to mask his shock in time. He found himself almost unable to keep up with Sasuke's accuracy in hitting the nail right on its head with his questions. It was getting dangerous.

"Why didn't you ask dad directly?" Itachi asked watching his brother intently to gauge his reaction.

Sasuke's face scrunched a little in dismay as he looked to the side.

"I wanted to….but I couldn't." Sasuke admitted sourly.

Itachi then proceed to sit up to give Sasuke his full attention.

"I must say I'm surprise about your concern about Hiashi Hyuga's death." Itachi observed.

Sasuke scoffed at Itachi words.

"I could care less about that guy's death." Then he paused as his face suddenly became grim. "I just…I can't stomach the idea that dad could take a person's life, even be it a Hyuga."

Itachi then caught a rare emotion flash through his little brother's usually cold eyes. He was worried. Deeply so. He was just a son worried his father, a man he looked up to could be a monster.

Itachi decided to play it normal to not give Sasuke more reasons to ask questions. Sasuke was too smart to do otherwise.

"If you are this concerned and can't ask dad, why not find a way to get something out of Koga? He is practically dad's shadow."

Sasuke's frown lines deepened with disagreement. The memory of Koga being sent outside whiles Itachi and their dad talk behind closed the day of Hiashi's death flashed through his mind.

"I doubt dad would confide something that grave even to Koga."

This made Itachi cock a brow at his brother.

"So then why would you think he would confide in me something he cannot confide in his own right hand man instead? Isn't that what he pays him for?"

Sasuke was about to bring up Itachi and their dad's confidential meeting without Koga the day of Hiashi's death, but for some reason he hesitated. And in that second of hesitation, he remembered his dad's surprise visit to his apartment, which was only because he wanted to know how Itachi was faring. He never even asked how he was, or even if he slept well.

"It's because you are his golden boy, his greatest pride and joy." Itachi cringed at the bitterness in Sasuke's voice and eventhough he tried to hide it with casualness, the smile he held seemed to hurt his face.

After all this time from their childhood, it was still palpable and ever potent: Sasuke's jealously and bitterness towards him because their father favoured him and paid more attention towards him.

And Itachi hated it. He hated the way Sasuke looked at him with so much resentment. He hated how it had drifted them apart. He hated how it had turned his once caring and kind beloved little brother into this spiteful cold hearted man before him. And the guilt Itachi felt from all this from childhood was still palpable and ever potent.

"Sasuk-" Itachi instinctively reached out but Sasuke took it as pity and he wasn't having any of that.

"Yoshino played a big part in convincing me to come here though. You should be more careful about leaving such a fine secretary as yours all alone for so long, someone might steal her from you." Sasuke's infamous smirk was back.

"Oh." Itachi could only manage to say as he realised how selfish he had been disappearing all this time without giving her as much of a word especially when it was she who would have to answer to people about his whereabouts when she knew nothing.

"She is worried about you. I can't believe you have not picked even her calls." Sasuke wasn't helping Itachi's guilt by rubbing salt into the injury.

"How is she?" Itachi asked.

"She is fine, she just needs an apology and her boss in that order." Sasuke said whiles nursing his drink.

Itachi nodded in agreement.

Taking the last gulp of his drink he got to his feet, announcing his departure as he was done with what he was to do here.

"So as not to make Yoshino worry anymore, please do something about all this." Sasuke gestured with his eyes running up and down Itachi's whole being with a look of distaste on his face. "You look awful."

And with that Sasuke made his way to the door to leave. But when he opened the door he stopped.

"Try picking your calls…. so people don't get too worried about you."

Itachi turned to give his brother a teasing smirk.

"Am I right to assume you are one of those people?"

Sasuke just scoffed at this and left.

…..

* * *

Hinata didn't even wait for Ko to open the door for her, opening the door herself and getting out as if she couldn't stay in the a second longer in the same space as Ko. Ko just sighed as his guilt filled eyes watched Hinata walk to the house without so much as a glance at him. How he survived the car ride without suffocating was still a mystery to him. He couldn't tell if the AC was working a bit too well or it was just Hinata freezing him to death with her coldness. It was like he wasn't even in the car with her or didn't exist in the first place. He almost broke under the intense tension in the car but Hinata seemed to care less with her eyes fixated outside the window like she just wanted to jump right out.

He wished she would at least yell at him. He didn't think he could take this cold treatment any longer. But he knew Hinata didn't function that way but even this side of her was one that took him by surprised. It showed him how much he had messed up.

…..

* * *

Hinata had made her final step and about to make it inside which was just seconds away with her brisk pace. She needed to get to her room. She couldn't deal with anything or anyone right now as she was seconds from detonating from all the happenings of the day. But opening the front door and making it to the living room in order to get to the stairs was a sight that felt like a gun to her head.

And she would gladly that gunshot to the head right now.

Sitting in the living room with displeased looks on their stony faces waiting for her were the elders. Hinata had to hold herself from groaning out in pain at what she had before her concerning these five. Nothing good came from them especially when she had made them wait all this while they had a flight to catch. But in her current state she didn't have the strength to feel the great dread she felt around these elders especially with them glaring at her for making them wait. All she wanted to do was go back to her room and shut herself from the world again.

"Hyuga Hinata, how much contempt and disrespect are you going to show us?" Honoka stood up abruptly glowering at a passive Hinata.

Honoka had had enough.

"I am no longer going to watch you disregard we the elders in the name of mourning your father. We have waited for you all day when we have to fly back to our various homes, without the comfort of a private plane, with you nowhere to be found only for you to arrive and just stand dumbly without any repentance or remorse when you should be on your knees begging for forgiveness!" Honoka lashed out at Hinata, which seem to trigger some stimuli of surprise in Hinata at seeing Honoka with this much colourful expression of rage on her usually stony face. This made Hinata see she had probably gone too far to get such a response. As demanded indirectly, she walked slowly to the middle of the elders and got on her knees, bowing lowly with her forehead almost touching the lush carpet.

"My elders, I ask for forgiveness for my insubordinate actions today and any disrespect towards you. I ask for forgiveness for my attitude towards my elders these past few days. I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me, keeping in mind my promise not to repeat these actions of mine again." Without lifting her head, she could sense a drop in the intensity of the glares on her, even Honoka's who gave a huff as she sat. Hinata remain in her prostrate position enjoying her view of not seeing any of the elders eventhough she was in the middle of them.

Eito cleared his throat to announce he was about to speak.

"Since Honoka dono has said it all and you seemed to have realise the extent to your deviant behaviour and gross disrespect, I am not going to waste time on that and go straight to the reason to why we are here since our flights are almost due." He paused to share a look with the rest of the elders before proceeding. " As made aware to us on the day of Hiashi's funeral, he has signed everything in his name to those Uchihas, which means a large portion of the Hyuga empire but not all." This new information made Hinata's ears perk up. The news seemed to lighten her heavy heart with some relief of the guilt of her father's action being laid off now knowing her father didn't send the whole Hyuga with him to his grave.

"The portion of the Hyuga empire in the hands of the Uchihas is that entitled to the main house under Hiashi's name. The rest which was not under Hiashi's name as the clan leader but under the name of we the elders is what is entitled to branch family, that is the rest of the clan…..and as such will remain so." Hinata felt uneasy at these words eventhough she didn't understand. As if he could sense Hinata's struggle, Hisao decided to explain.

"What we are trying to say to you as the eldest child of the main family and the one currently in charge is that, this calamity that has happened is only restricted to the main family and as such the rest of the clan has nothing to do with it and will not suffer for the consequences of your father's actions."

Hinata's torso was shot upright to look into the faces of the elders with bewilderment.

"W-What do you mean by restricted to only the main family. I don't understand." She didn't want to believe what her mind was telling her by their words. She wasn't ready for this. She could never be ready for this. Eventhough they were never warm to each other, they still shared blood. They were still fami-

"we are stripping this house of the title of the main family and making it a distant part of the clan so as to curb and prevent the shame this family has brought from extending to the whole of the Hyuga clan and as such you would be on your own from now on." Honoka fired the bullets with her words to Hinata's head and heart.

She could just stare at their cold emotionless faces as the realisation of their words hit her like a ton of bricks.

Like her body had a mind of its own, she stood up but had to take time doing so since her knees were still weak from the shock.

"Y-you are cutting yourself from us? You are throwing us away because of money?" she asked with the shock still coursing through her entire being.

"We are disassociating ourselves from you because you would taint the Hyuga name with the shame your father has brought upon you." Hisao stated in a matter of fact tone.

Hinata was flabbergasted.

"Because we don't have money to our names anymore so associating with is us is shameful? Your own family? Is it not throwing us away because of money?"

Honoka stood up to face Hinata.

"And what if it is?" Honoka spat which made the pit of Hinata stomach begin churn and burn at her boldness of admitting the truth so shamelessly.

"Honoka!" Hironori who throughout the exchange hadn't spoken boomed at Honoka.

"What?" Honoka snapped at him before turning her attention back to Hinata. "What did you expect, that we welcome you with open arms after your father singlehandedly signed away everything, all that our forefathers had worked for, all their sweat, toil and sacrifice to no one other than the Uchihas?...Know that it was your father, your own father that threw us away first the moment he decided to associate with the Uchihas." When Honoka was done, she received nods and sounds of approval from her fellow elders, as she had said what was on their minds.

But her words in turn had ignited a fire of unquenchable rage in Hinata, all the rage accumulated from the pain of losing her father, from her helplessness of Hanabi's psychological instability from the funeral, from not understanding Itachi''s sudden change, from being hurt by Ko not believing in her and now she was most furious by just discovering that they were not just throwing she and her sister away because of the money but because of the fact that her father associated with the Uchiha which according to them was a taboo and made them unclean because they were his daughters.

Hinata would have probably not been this angry if it was just the money, but no, she was just mad with rage by the fact that they could just throw their own kinsmen away because of their strong hatred for the Uchihas. She couldn't believe how they had made their hatred possess them so much and allow it be stronger than the bonds of family and blood.

_Wasn't supposed blood to be thicker than water? _

_Did these people even have blood flowing through their veins to begin with?_

But she being Hinata, even with the tip of her tongue burning to lash out at them with words that might crack their stony hearts, she bit her tongue and remain quiet, fixing them with a cool glare that seemed to throw them off balance a bit.

"Is that all?" she asked in a tightly controlled with a biting edge to her tone. This took them aback and made their mouth shut with surprise even Honoka couldn't complain about her tone. But for a moment.

"No, there is one last thing." Eito finally shook away his surprise to speak up. Hinata scoffed in her head thinking these people would not stop at nothing until they have completely crushed a person's soul.

Hinata just stared at him with her cold eyes without moving a muscle to encourage him to continue. Seeing wasn't going to get anything from her, Eito just cleared his throat and continued.

"In our way of extending a helping hand to you in these dire times you are going are experiencing to shoulder some of the burden, we would like to take Hanabi into our care especially since her condition would require a lot of finances you currentl-"

"Over my dead body." Her voice was just a tad higher than a whisper, but it echoed loudly in the room which efficiently gave the aftermath of shock and silence.

"…..excuse me?" Eito asked still not sure if he had head right those words come out of none other than Hinata.

Hinata's fingernails dug painfully into her skin as she clenched her fist tightly in an effort to hold her hands still from trembling with rage as she lifted her piercing eyes to pin them down with her murderous glare.

"I said over my dead body would I allow you to take Hanabi anywhere with you heartless people!"

Hinata snapped.

She could take them throwing her away and treating her like trash. She could take their harsh cold words and unfeelingness. She could even forgive them for turning their backs on her in her time of need. But what she couldn't take and forgive them for was the thought of taking her sister away from her. She couldn't believe how shameless they could be. She couldn't believe how inhumane and inconsiderate they were. And it drove her mad to the extent she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"You throw us away because of money and now you want to buy us with money? Do you people even have consciences or a heart that still beats? It would be an insult to my father to let you people anywhere near Hanabi to taint her with all your bitterness and malice especially people who have turned their backs on his own house. I know you people do not want Hanabi just to help out, but for your own ulterior selfish gains. And as such to protect this house's future and my father's legacy, I am forbidding you all from ever getting any closer to Hanabi! Ever!."

Hinata lashed out her fury unto the gobsmacked elders who could only stare in crippling shock at this side of Hinata they never knew ever existed. They still couldn't believe the meek girl who had to hold herself from quivering in their presence was the same enraged one before them spitting fire of her fury at them. They didn't know she was capable of anger much more full blown rage. Her whole body shook with her unquenchable anger and she was panting trying to take in huge gulps of air to calm herself down.

"I am sure the Uchihas who you so much hate and call them cold blooded people know the value of family and bonds the members share in thick and thin more than you people would ever know."

"Enough!" Eito boomed banging his hand loudly on the arm rest in his reaction to Hinata's words. He held Hinata's heated glare with his hard one. "Do not compare us to the likes of them."

Hinata felt a bile of words crawling up her throat to be spat at the man, but her personality kicked in on time to stop the impending onslaught.

She took in a deep breath to further push the venom away from the tip of her tongue before she spoke up again.

"Since we have made our stands clear to each other, I wouldn't want to keep you here any longer to miss your flight. Have a safe trip." And with that Hinata turned to leave only for her steps be halted by a hand grabbing her by the arm and turning her around to face a look of disdain from Honoka.

"Are you really going to spit in our faces like this by walking out on us?"

Hinata yanked her hand away from Honoka's grasp before she fixed her with a glare that could freeze hell over.

"You were the ones who walked out on us first." And this time as she turned to leave and make her ascent up the stairs, the five elders could just watch in silence as an unwanted feeling akin to shamed gnawed at the back of their heads.

But one other pair unnoticed by anyone, stared at Hinata with a feeling of warmth erupting life back into her hollow chest.

* * *

Just a little more…

Hinata walked robotically towards the door to her bedroom whiles holding her breath as she was barely able to hold the volcano of pent up emotions ready to explode in her face any moment from now. She skipped a step with a faster pace to finally reach her door and let herself in, as she knew she had reached her limit and a second later would make her find herself break right infront of her door before she made it into her room.

As soon as she closed her door shut, she let the breath she was holding out, which came as a sob that gave way for torrents of tears to come rushing down her face. She grabbed her torso to hold her still since she started shaking uncontrollably as the tears increased, trying to make it to her bed with her wobbling legs. But she barely made it halfway when her legs gave way and she crumbled to the floor in a heap of herself like how her world had crumbled to the ground. Flashes of the day's events coursed through her mind each stabbing her mercilessly in the heart and elicit tears that felt like acid to burn down her checks. From Itachi, the one man she loves with her whole heart and soul, turning their years of undying love and desire to a loveless business transaction and breaking up with her, Itachi again breaking what was left of her heart and hope completely by emphasizing his desire of wanting nothing to do with her, Ko, her number one confidante and support, letting her down with his disappointment in her and finally to her own family throwing her away and wanting to take away her beloved sister away from her…Hinata had fallen into a deep dark abyss of agony and hopelessness she wished she could say she had hit rock bottom. At least she would have a leverage to stand up back again. But she was falling, deeper and deeper into a bottomless pit where there was no hope of standing up back to her feet or the light of day ever reaching her. Her sobs turned into loud cries and wails as her heart had been impregnated with too much pain she couldn't hold in any longer and was driving her mad. She clutched and scratched her chest in a desperate effort to take away some of the pain only to prove futile. She then surrendered herself to the cold floor, curling into herself as she wept into her bosom alone in in her room. But then out of nowhere , a warmth foreign at the same time familiar engulfed her from behind and to her surprise was already shedding some of the heaviness in her heart away.

Hinata didn't need to turn as the very familiar scent already gave away whose arms she was in. She was ashamed to. Too ashamed that after she had neglected her all these days she was the same person comforting her. Too ashamed to let her sister see her like this again. It made her heart clench at her helplessness before her little sister whom she was supposed to protect. It made her cry harder.

Hanabi could feel her sister's hesitation to look at her and knew why. And because of her hesitation she was shutting her out. But who was she to complain when after she went berserk at her father's funeral, she had completely shut the world out. She knew Hinata only came to see her when she thought she was asleep because upon all she was going through she wouldn't be able stomach the sight of her in her disturbed state and her inability to reach out to her. But seeing her sister like she had never seen her or ever imagined stand up against the elders and fight for her so fiercely was enough to wake her up from her sleep and bring her back amongst the living.

Hanabi hugged Hinata tighter to pull her closer to her making Hinata involuntarily gasp in surprise in spite of her state.

"You were able to reach me Hina. You were able to save me from myself. So let me also reach out to you. Because we have each other Nata, you have me." Hanabi said in a warm soothing voice that was able to clear the fog in Hinata's head to finally turn to look at Hanabi to confirm with her eyes if she was actually ok. Her teary eyes widened as she took the sight of her sister in, the sight of her sister back to life with the distant look away from her eyes as she was actually looking at her and she was with her. And just like that, the day of light reached Hinata and she didn't seem to be falling anymore as her newfound hope was holding her in place. Her sister was back. Her sister was well. Instead of the squeal of joy she instead she rather burst into fresh tears of joy almost taking Hanabi aback.

"Hina?" Hanabi called out in worry.

"I-I am….y-you don't know how happy you've made me, Hana. You don't know how m-much I needed this." Hinata managed to say in between sobs as she tried to wipe her tears but only succeeded in spreading it all over her face.

Hanabi gave her sister a soft look at her helplessness as she reached out to help her wipe her tears.

"I'm glad I was also able to reach out to you too, Hina."

"Thank you Hana." Hinata's voice cracked with her overwhelming emotions and even with the great effort she was exerting to stop her from crying, some escaped the corners of her eyes.

Hanabi pulled Hinata back to her chest as seeing her sister like this was making tears of her own brim her eyes. Looking into her sister's eyes were too painful as they told a vivid tale of all the agony she has been going through since their father's death, all alone.

"I am here for you Hina. You are not alone."

Hearing her sister's words Hinata could only nod her head as a lump of tears lodge itself in her throat preventing her from speaking without crying again. Both sisters grabbed each other tightly as they had only each other in the world comforting each other's sorrows and fears with their embrace. Too engrossed in their own world, they didn't notice the door open as Ko watched the heart-warming sight of the sisters. With a soft smile on his face he left the sisters alone in their world.

* * *

Sasuke took his time to savour his cup of coffee inhaling noseful of its scent to fog his mind out of the grumpiness and annoyance of being summoned this early to breakfast in the Uchiha mansion just to entertain his father about news of Itachi. A vein throbbed at his temple.

"Well?" Fugaku asked without lifting his eyes from the fruit he was slicing on his plate.

Two veins throbbed at Sasuke's temple.

Sasuke finally set his cup down to show he had controlled his annoyance to respond to his father's question.

"He seems to have a few more days to live so no need to worry for someti-"

"Sasuke." Fugaku warned at Sasuke's unwarranted sarcasm fixing him with a look to match to make emphasis.

Sasuke smirked sarcastically at how he had to get his father annoyed to get him to even look at him.

"But with the shaking I gave him we should be expecting back with us very soon." Sasuke added nonchalantly getting back to his little affair with his cup of coffee.

Fugaku's attention was back to his food before him.

"I see. Let's hope you are right."

Sasuke's eyes twitched reflexively at his father's words.

_If it were Itachi it would have been… "I trust your judgement."_

Sasuke masked the bitterness crawling up his throat with nonchalance as he picked his phone to entertain himself knowing very well his father hated it when anyone used their phone at the dining table. He could feel his father's heated glare on him which instead made him happy and eager for the incoming scolding from his father.

But it never came.

"I have an assignment for you." His father said instead making him shoot his eyes from his phone screen to his father's face to give him a questioning look.

Fugaku knew of Sasuke's impatience and his cocked up eyebrow gave all the emphasis in the world he needed but he still decided to take a sip of his tea first before he satisfied his son's curiosity. Sasuke's eye was this moment twitching erratically.

"There are some drastic changes needed to be implemented with immediate effect and as such I hope you are able to see the delicacy of this assignment and act accordingly."

Sasuke paused at the words 'drastic changes' and didn't like how the first thing they brought to mind was…..

"Does it concern the death of Hyuga Hiashi?" Sasuke blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Yes it does." Fugaku answered without a beat of emotion in his voice.

This didn't stop the suspicion of his father's involvement in Hiashi's death from crossing his mind which even with his best effort to not give away, made his discomfort visible enough for Fugaku to catch on. His expression now reminded Fugaku of the same expression he wore at his apartment when Sasuke was about to ask him a question but hesitated to. And it didn't sit well with Fugaku.

"Say it." Fugaku ordered suddenly taking Sasuke aback with surprise.

"Wha-"

"What you wanted to ask me at your apartment, say it." Fugaku held his son's eyes steadily to show him he wasn't going to allow him get away without getting him to say what was on his mind once and for all.

Sasuke was about to hesitate but saw there was no use as his father already had his hawk eyes on him and there was no escaping.

He swallowed the lump of hesitation in his throat before answering.

"Did Hyuga Hiashi die in your office?" Sasuke not one to beat about the bush went straight for the kill and even managed to take his usually calm father off balance by the suddenness and lack of subtleness of his question.

Sasuke saw his father's state of unease and didn't like how it fed to his suspicion.

Fugaku calmed down masking a cough with the clearing of his throat.

"Did you not watch the news?" Fugaku threw back at Sasuke.

He did. It said Hyuga Hiashi was pronounced dead in the hospital. But….

"…..Forget I said anything." Sasuke decided to brush off the whole topic since he was letting his sentiments cloud his reasoning. But his father could see the dissatisfaction and suspicion still etched in his features and saw this as a problem. A problem if not dealt with immediately might cause even more serious problems in the future.

"I think there is no harm in confiding in you since you are also going to play major role in upcoming events."

Sasuke would have been thrilled any other day to hear his father trusted him enough to confide in him. But not today. Those words rather made his stomach churn at reinforcing his suspicions of his father involvement in his father's death. Dread wash over him in cold sweat as he waited for the words he was afraid he might hear from his father's mouth.

"Hyuga Hiashi and I were to go into a partnership in an oil drilling business we were to pursue. I had the land, he had the machinery and we both wanted to make profit and since the business was lucrative enough to put away our differences, we decided to go into partnership."

Sasuke was now confused.

"What of the story you told me about you lending him some money for a high budget project he was undertaking when I asked of the occasional visits you guys made to each other?"

"That was the story I told those who caught wind of our interactions so as to hide the truth I just told you. I didn't want the media to make front page news of this liaison between two rival powerhouses yet when there are even potholes in the truth." Fugaku said with a slight smirk on his lips as he raised his cup to his lips for sip of his tea.

"Potholes?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at his father.

Fugaku set his tea cup unto its saucer with his smirk growing wider.

"More of the master plan from the beginning…to finally conquer the Hyugas for good."

And there came the feeling of dread that turned Sasuke stomach.

"How did you accomplish it?"

"By tricking him to sign away the whole Hyuga Empire to me." Fugaku confessed knocking Sasuke over with shock.

"How….How is that even possible? How was a powerful head of an empire tricked into signing his entire empire to his worst enemy? Was he high?" Sasuke couldn't see any way possible for a man like Hiashi Hyuga to be tricked in such a manner.

"You underestimate me, Sasuke. If you have forgotten, I am equally as powerful as Hiashi. Mind you, he was very sober when he signed those papers in my office."

Sasuke was still having difficulty swallowing all this.

"But…how?"

"My son, business is like a game of poker. That crucial second you let yourself slip and forget the game you are playing, can cause you everything. I had planned this takeover for many years. It's no surprise at the end victory was mine at the end."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Was his death part of your plans?"

Fugaku paused for a second before answering his question.

"Did I know he had a heart problem….No. I was surprised as everyone when I heard he died of cardiac arrest after he left my office." He never lifted his eyes from his tea cup he was nursing in his hands when he answered Sasuke.

"Would you have gone ahead with your plans if you knew he was that sick and your plans had the potential to trigger his death?"

Fugaku dropped his tea cup loudly causing the expensive ceramic to crack. He lifted his eyes to bore straight into his son's.

"Are you going to make me regret confiding in you, Uchiha Sasuke?"

His father's heated glare and words seemed to knock him back to the train of thought his father kept him from childhood as an Uchiha to make him realise what he was doing.

He was sympathizing with a Hyuga. With the enemy. He immediately felt silly for losing himself there in that moment and forgetting what he has been able to confirm from all this.

Eventhough the blow of his father's trickery was what triggered Hyuga Hiashi's heart attack, it was unknowingly and as such his father didn't have a hand in the man's death.

Then why wasn't he fully relieved like he ought to be by the news?

He brushed it away as he probably being still grumpy as he wasn't a morning person.

But he remembers Itachi's strange behaviour for these past days which makes him curious as to what could push Itachi of all people to react like this since Sasuke knows what his father told him was not enough for his brother to completely cut ties with the world like this.

"….Dad, does Itachi know of all that you just told me?"

Fugaku's eyes became a few shades darker.

"Of course, he was aware of the business deal from the beginning. He was even there on the final day when Hiashi signed the papers. I have to admit if it weren't your brother that day, we wouldn't have been able to make Hyuga Hiashi to sign those papers."

Then a realisation hit Sasuke, an answer to his brother's odd behaviour.

It was guilt.

The guilt of being the one to indirectly trigger the man's death. This was his brother handling the guilt away from everyone especially their father who Sasuke was sure he blamed him for putting him in such a position.

He felt something tug in his chest at the thought of what his brother was dealing with all alone.

"I must say I'm surprised at how well you have handled all that I have told you well. Even better than your brother."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

_Did my father, Fugaku Uchiha just say I did something better than Itachi?_

Sasuke almost asked his father to repeat what he just said but the elation bursting in his chest was more than enough to confirm what his father had just told him. Eventhough it wasn't much, it meant a lot for Sasuke who had waited all his life for his father to say he was better in something, anything than Itachi. Because it meant his father had noticed him. His father gave him attention.

Sasuke thanked his Uchiha genes for maintaining a poker face to prevent him from making a total fool out of himself from his elation.

But Fugaku could see it all and that was the response he wanted, to know he had Sasuke where he wanted. There was nothing he would asked of him now he wouldn't do.

"I have an important task I would like you to undertake with immediate effect" Fugaku's words were music to Sasuke's ears but he wasn't going to let him know that.

With an air of nonchalance, Sasuke sat back in his chair to regard his father.

"I'm all ears."

…..

* * *

Hinata stared at the envelope lying innocently on her drawer long and hard like it would bite her. She had been doing this for what seemed like hours since she woke up. She couldn't believe she had been reduced to being petrified by a folder piece of paper. But it wasn't the envelope she was scared of, but its contents. Her fear of what she might find inside is what has kept her from opening it since she received it.

She took in a deep breathe.

This won't do. Not when she had resolve not to be weak and pathetic infront of anyone especially Hanabi anymore. She told herself her total meltdown last night was going to be her last act of weakness.

Fired up, she quickly picked up the envelope and almost immediately started opening it before she hesitates at the last minute.

She unfolded its contents and begun to read.

She reread it again.

And again.

She didn't know what to say she didn't know what to feel.

Her father wasn't poisoned. He died of a heart attack. So says the report.

Confusion was settling in.

Why was this feeling of dissatisfaction gnawing at the back of her mind? Was she hoping for a foul play in her father's death? Was she being suspicious?

Eventhough he didn't die of poisoning, she found his death from heart attack suspicious. Yes she was suspicious and rightly so. His heart disease was under control and even the doctor told them it would be rare for him to have an attack anytime soon with his healthy way of living. On the day he died he didn't eat anything strange. She was with him at breakfast and he was served what he normally ate.

But she wasn't with him at lunch. That was about the time he went to the Uchihas for the final signing of their deal. And he never returned alive.

Hinata's thoughts became haywire.

_What happened that day at the Uchihas?_

Hinata couldn't take the uncertainty anymore.

She picked up her phone and dialled a number.

"Hello doctor, good morning. How are you?...I'm good thank you. Doctor I would like to meet you this morning, would it be okay? Thank you, doctor. See you soon."

Hinata cut the line and got up to look for what to wear in her closet. Just then, Hanabi barged in with a tray of food.

"Room service please." Hanabi announced unenthusiastically as she set the tray down on Hinata's bedside table.

"I thought room service was supposed to knock before entering and sound livelier." Hinata said almost thoughtfully her giggle at the end giving her away.

Hanabi deadpanned.

"I could always call Ko here to stand in for me with all his weirdness." Hanabi said offhandedly.

This made Hinata take a pause.

"Weird?"

Hanabi nodded whiles drinking the juice she had brought for Hinata.

"He has been acting weird all morning. I even caught him standing infront of your door. It seemed he had forgotten how to knock and open all the door all together."

And Hinata knew why. Their altercation from yesterday flashed through her mind that instant. Hinata's face begun to fall in sadness at the harsh words she said to Ko.

"Now you are acting weird." Hanabi pointed out at Hinata's facial expression.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and it was Ko asking for permission to come inside. Hanabi chuckled at Hinata almost jumping out of her skin at the sound of Ko's voice.

"What's up with you guys, hmm?" Hanabi teased lifting her eyebrows suggestively at Hinata who gave her a poor attempt of a reprimanding look.

Hinata cleared the lump in her throat as she lifted her eyes to the door.

"Ko, please come in." she beckoned him and slowly and with some uncertainty Ko opened the door to reveal himself.

Face to face, Hinata and Ko eyes met for a second and they both averted their eyes, the awkwardness very palpable between them.

Hanabi was struggling to contain her laughter.

"I will leave you two to talk." Hanabi got up to leave of her own volition not wanting them to give her a lame excuse to leave and also to ease herself of the laughter she was struggling to hold down.

Now left alone they were stuck in an awkward silence with Hanabi's laughter echoing in the background from the hallway.

Ko couldn't take it anymore and decided to break the ice.

"Hinata-sama, I want to apologize for my actions yesterday. I was completely out of line. Please forgive me Hinata-sama." Ko apologized earnestly with a deep bow to emphasize how sorry he was. His sad pleading eyes earnestly yearning for her forgiveness was more than enough to move Hinata even if she had had her heart hardened against him. But she too had been yearning for his forgiveness for her part in yesterday's altercation.

She was infront of Ko in seconds with her hands on his shoulders making him almost jump in surprise at her touch, to pull him up from his bow to stand up right. She stared up into his eyes with deep apologetic eyes mirroring his.

"I'm also sorry for all the harsh things I said to you yesterday when you were just concerned and trying to help. I was so unfair to you and I hope you can forgive me."

"No Hinata-sama. As I said before, I was totally out of line and from now I think it would be best to stay out of your business." Ko resolved against his conflicting emotions.

Hinata grabbed Ko hands as she held Ko eyes with hers.

"Are you leaving me too, Ko?" she asked in the most delicate voice making Ko hate himself for what he just said.

"No Hinata-sama how could I leave you."

"Then please don't say that, Ko. Dad is gone and Itachi…I'm so confused about him and I'm not certain about where we both stand anymore. And my own family have deserted me. At this moment, its you and Hanabi that are keeping me on my two feet. If I were to lose you too, my one and only confidante, I don't know what I would do Ko. I need you by my side Ko." Hinata squeezed Ko's hands tenderly in hers as her eyes peering into his spoke volumes of the earnestness of her moving words. And Ko was beyond moved. Ko was struggling to keep his overwhelming emotions in check at Hinata's heart-warming and touching words to him. He has never had someone look at him with such eyes, eyes that told him how she treasured him. His lady treasured him, a mere servant. He felt beyond special. And no one in this world could give him this feeling apart from her.

He squeezed her hands back.

"Even when you push me away I will always stick by your side like a leach, Hinata-sama. I would always protect you to my dying breath." He vowed to his lady. A vow he was going to keep all his life.

But he was taken aback by a giggle that escaped Hinata. That was not the response he was expecting from the deep words he just told her.

"A leach? How is a leach supposed to protect me when sucking everything from me?" Hinata joked.

"Leaches have been proven to give health benefits, Hinata-sama." He joked back.

The ice had finally been broken and they both chuckled at each other's silliness. They were both beyond glad to be back on good terms. They missed each other.

"Speaking of health, I have an appointment with the doctor." Hinata announced.

"Hinata-sama are you sick anywhere?" Ko asked in concern searching for any sign of illness from his lady,

"No I'm ok. I just read the autopsy report. I need to see him about it." Hinata explained.

Finally.

Ko smiled inside seeing this as a sign that Hinata was back to normal.

"Then I am going get the car ready, Hinata-sama."

….

* * *

Itachi walked out of the bathroom into his room towelling his wet long hair. He sat in the chair by his bed with his neatly ironed office shirt and tie facing him. He picked up the tie to bring it close to his face and gave a sigh.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

….

* * *

"Are all the reporters from all the prominent media houses in the country infront of the Hyuga towers as I instructed?...Good. I would be there in a few minutes." Sasuke cut the call and leaned back into his seat as he was chauffeured to the Hyuga building for his big assignment.

Sasuke smirked.

It felt like more of a hobby than an assignment from the pleasure he was getting even before carrying it out.

…

* * *

Yoshino's eyes move from the pile of files on the desk to the cold empty seat deprived of its owners warmth for days.

Her eyes grew sullen.

She was also deprived of his presence for too long. She didn't know she would miss him this much. Her heart ached to see him.

She let one of her long perfectly manicured fingers run absentmindedly on his name plate.

She would have saved herself all this torture by going to visit him herself at his apartment like she had been dying to do this past days of his absence. But as usual her common sense always kicked in in time before her emotions could take control. She reasoned that if he was actually ill or even wanted her around he would have called her long ago to inform her of his absence.

But he never did. She waited and waited and he never did. And that's why she reluctantly had to rely on Sasuke's help to at least to know how her boss was faring. And of course nothing was free when it came to Sasuke Uchiha especially concerning her.

She had to go on a date with him which she dreaded every single bit of it.

At least she had the consolation of knowing Itachi was still alive and kicking.

She caught herself spacing out and decided it was time to get back to her desk. After she dumped a new set of files on the previous pile, she turned to the door to leave Itachi's office.

But what she saw awaiting her on her desk made her feet and heart halt in its movement.

"Good morning, Yoshino." Dressed impeccably in dark blue tux and pants, white button up shirt and silver tie, was the person running through her mind all morning sitting at the edge of her desk, his hands in his pockets and his long legs stretched and crossed before him effectively letting the light reflect off his expensive polished Italian shoes. Sitting at side almost impeccable as the man beside it was a tastefully arranged bouquet of purple tulips which happened to be her favourite.

She was supposed to show resistance and be miffed at not hearing anything from him in days and just appearing on her like this.

She didn't know if it was her elation from seeing him again or the fact that he remembered her favourite flowers but she felt all those days of anguish and heart ache wash away and her face already threatening to split into a sheepish grin.

But being who she is, she composed herself in time before she let herself go.

"Welcome back, sir." She said coolly as she walked around her desk to get behind it where she instantly started busy herself with arranging the papers and files on her desk to avoid eye contact with Itachi. He gave a small amused smile at this.

He stood up from the desk to turn around and face her.

He picked up the bouquet to place it right before her where she couldn't avoid it.

She looked at the bouquet and up at Itachi.

"They are mine?" Her feigned obliviousness which made Itachi's amused smile widen.

He simple nodded in response.

Her eyes went back to the bouquet where they landed on the card place amongst the flowers. She plucked it up and opened it to read.

_**I'm sorry.**_

They were just two words but they had already moved Yoshino and turned her insides to goo.

She raised her eyes to meet Itachi's which seemed to be pleading for forgiveness albeit with some awkwardness. And Yoshino found it adorable. But as she stared into his eyes longer, eventhough she couldn't actually pinpoint what it was, there seemed to be something off about them. Not wanting to burst the bubble of pure joy she was in, she brushed it away deciding it was because she hadn't seen him for his while.

She picked one tulip to her nose with a smile already curling the side of her lips to a surrender into a smile.

"I'm surprised you remembered my favourite flowers."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Why?"

Her smile just broadened.

"I'm just…"

…_..happy_

"….surprised."

Itachi allowed a small smirk curl up his lips.

"Can I take my success in surprising you and your smile as a sign of forgiveness?"

Yoshino's smile turned sly.

"Sir, you make it sound like I had a choice to begin with, not when my salary depends on it."

Itachi chuckled.

"You make me sound like a slave driver."

Yoshino smiled warmly at him.

"Slave drivers do not give their secretaries expensive bouquets of their favourite flowers when asking for forgiveness or even ask for forgiveness for that matter." She pointed out.

She let her eyes fall on the flower in her hand as she spoke.

"There was nothing to forgive to begin with maybe I was a little miffed you never called because I was really worried about your whereabouts." She then lifted her head to look into Itachi's eyes with tender eyes which surprised Itachi.

"Thank you for the flowers and its good to have you back, sir."

Itachi held her gaze with his.

"Thank you for worrying about me, Yoshino"

She couldn't tear her eyes away if not Itachi breaking eye contact to turn around and leave to his office.

"I will be in the office then." And with that he disappeared into his office.

Yoshino's chest was bursting warmth and with those funny feelings butterflies in her stomach under Itachi's intense gaze.

She sighed.

_What do you think you are doing? _She scolded herself back to composure.

She picked up the bouquet awaiting her attention on her desk.

"I need to get these in water."

…

* * *

"The heart attack your father suffered before his death I must say was strange, Miss Hyuga. From the healthy lifestyle he adopted after he was diagnosed of his disease, he was out of danger from suffering from a heart attack and the results from his frequent check-ups are there to prove this fact. The only way he could have suffered such a massive heart attack is from him going through something traumatic." The doctor explained to Hinata what she had suspecting all morning.

Her fist involuntarily clenched and her brows furrowed as she took in what the doctor had just said taking her to the one mystery she had been trying to crack but without success.

_What happened that day at the Uchihas before dad died?_

The doctor had already ruled out the option of drugs or poison triggering his death as there were no signs of that in his autopsy. It confused Hinata the more.

_So then what happened to dad in that office? What at all could make dad sign away his blood and sweat and that of his ancestors before him to his mortal enemies?_

Ko just remained quiet the whole time in his seat regarding his lady with concern.

Before she could sink deeper into confusion, her phone begun to ring. Blinked at the name of her father's PA's name displayed on her screen.

"Hello, Akamine-san."

From the other end of the line a voice spoke.

"Hello Madame, please we need you here at the office immediately. Something terrible is happening here."

Hinata grew alarmed that instant.

"What is going on over there?"

"Madame the press have flooded the office premises awaiting the takeover of the Hyuga towers by the son of Fugaku Uchiha!"

_Itachi. _

Shock and dread gripped Hinata were she sat causing both Ko and the doctor to look at Hinata with worry.

"Akamine-san please hold the fort for me till I come I would be there shortly." As soon as she ended the call she was on her feet with an urgent look on her face.

She turned to the doctor to address him.

"Doctor thank you so much for your time. Sorry I have to leave this early but something just came up."

"Don't worry feel free to come by anytime if you don't understand anything." The doctor said

"I would." she quickly turned to Ko motion him to the door. "Ko shall we?"

As soon as they were outside, Ko asked the question burning on his lips.

"Hinata-sama what is the problem?"

Hinata completely stopped in her tracks, as it seemed she needed special effort to answer Ko from as it seemed too heavy for her.

She took in a shaky breath.

"Itachi…..The Uchihas are making their move. He is taking over the Hyuga towers before the press for the whole world to see Ko."Her voice shook in the end after being able to let out the heavy words.

Ko was washed with dread.

"This can't be happening!"

Hinata's body shook with resolve.

"I can't allow this. I can't let him go this far." Hinata declared in determination.

Ko liked the words and spirit determination from his lady.

Her legs started moving of their own accord prompting Ko to follow suit.

"Ko lets go."

"Yes, Hinata-sama."

* * *

…..

He stood in the middle of his office with his hands in his pocket facing the sleek plasma flat screen TV affixed unto the wall, his face increasingly hardening by the second as his stormy eyes took in what was displayed before them on the screen.

**Breaking News: Uchiha group have made a declaration of taking over the empire of their biggest and legendary rivals, the Hyugas. To make this official, one of the heirs of the Uchiha group is here at the Hyuga towers to meet with the board of directors.**

Itachi watched as Sasuke alighted from the car, straightening his expensive dark grey suit as he stared into the cameras with the reporters swarming towards him upon his arrival, with a smug smirk plastered on his face.

**Mr. Uchiha can you tell us more about this takeover?**

Sasuke's smirk broadened.

**Sasuke: Today the world is going to be a bit more peaceful to live in since at long last the generational rivalry between the Uchihas and the Hyugas has finally come to an end, with the Uchihas coming out as victors. The Hyugas were worthy opponents but at the end it is the best that would remaining standing.**

**Reporter: Mr. Uchiha was this take over successful because of Hiashi Hyuga's death or is it a mere coincidence the Uchiha have been able to conquer the Hyugas only after his death?**

Sasuke turned from the cameras to pin the reporter who dared to ask him that question sending shivers down the reporter's spine as Sasuke's smirk remained in place only turning darker.

**Sasuke: It's too bad Hyuga Hiashi is not alive to witness this memorable occasion, because even if he were alive, the Hyuga would have still fallen and the only difference would be it happening right before his eyes.**

With a parting nodded Sasuke ascended the stairs into the Hyuga building with his bodyguards fending off the reporters trying to accost him.

Itachi kept on pressing the remote to repeatedly change the channels. They were flooded with Sasuke making his big speech before the take-over.

Itachi's jaw clenched.

He turned off the TV and begun making his way to the door with his car keys. But when he opened the door, he was met with his father just a couple of steps to his door.

His face on reflex turned to ice at the sight of his father.

Fugaku let the side of his lip curve to what looked like an odd smile.

"I can see you finally decided to come back."

"It's a pity it just took this second for me to regret that decision, upon taking sleepless nights to make." Itachi gave his father a meaningful look to make emphasis. And Fugaku was not amused.

"Good morning, Uchiha-sama." Yoshino's voice from behind broke the glare contest between the Uchiha men to turn to look at her.

"Good morning, Yoshino." Fugaku replied but gave a curious look when his eyes landed on the bouquet of flowers now placed in a jar of water in her hands.

Yoshino caught the look in his eye and almost couldn't hide the bashfulness from her smile when her eyes darted to Itachi's face.

She almost explained the flowers but stop herself since she wasn't ask.

"May I ask the occasion?" Fugaku asked.

"An apology and token of repentance." Yoshino answered lifting the flowers higher as if to give Fugaku a better look.

Fugaku turned to give Itachi a sly smirk.

"I don't think I have receive my token of repentance from you yet."

"There was none coming your way to begin with." Itachi stated in a matter of fact tone.

There was a dash of sourness in Fugaku's smirk.

"Come to my office. We are having a meeting."

Itachi still stood there unmoving even as Fugaku made his way to the door but his eyes wandered over to Yoshino to see a weird look on her face at both he and his father.

Itachi wasn't surprise she could sense something wrong between he and his father. After all Yoshino's keen intellect and perception weren't ones to be trifled with.

When Fugaku sense no sign of Itachi following when he had opened the door he turned his head to give him a sharp look.

"When I say come, I mean now." He said in a tone of finality, daring Itachi to defy him.

Itachi would have gladly taken up the challenge, but Yoshino was already sensing the bad vibes between he and his father and he wasn't going to give her a reason to.

"Yoshino, I won't be long." Itachi announced before following his father to his father.

"Yes sir." Yoshino responded a second too late as Fugaku and Itachi had already disappeared behind the closed the door. She finally let the breath she was holding out to take the now less charged and safe air upon their departure. The air between them was too thick with tension for her to breathe which lead to ask:

"What was that?"

…..

* * *

Sasuke sits at the head of the grand table of the conference room with the board of directors and shareholders of the Hyuga conglomerate around him, with an air of triumph surrounding him at the look on their faces after reading the file each of them was handed with.

"As you can see ladies and gentlemen, The Hyuga Conglomerate is now for the Uchiha group and of course things are going to change starting from the top." Sasuke declared holding their attention with his commanding gaze.

"Well to put it straight things, things would change here depending on you, more specifically on your loyalty. I understand some of you might have personal attachments to the previous management and would find it difficult working with us being Uchihas and all cause of loyalty and all that." Sasuke then let a sardonic smirk stretch his lips. "Well you are free to take that loyalty out of this room and out of my building. A cheque would be sent to you to buy your shares out of this board."

There was then a wave of murmurs of disgruntlement amongst the board at Sasuke's manner of speech and words and soon some of the members board were on their feet leaving the room.

Sasuke face held total nonchalance and carelessness of losing a good number of his board not even sparing them a glance on their way out.

"Anyone else leaving?" Sasuke asked to be sure and when there was no movement to affirm that, Sasuke gave a nod of approval of those who remained.

"Good now I can see the wise men and women amongst you eventhough I must say very few."

Sasuke then took a more serious look as he had reach the point to talk real business.

"Why am I saying this, due to the grand nature of this takeover as a result of the involvement of the two biggest rival powerhouses in our country, stocks have already skyrocketed to an all-time high. There is no better time to be part of the board of directors of this company and as such your wisdom and loyalty has been and would continue to be duly rewarded." Sasuke charisma and confidence in the articulation of his words this time had won the directors and shareholders over, already overjoyed at their pockets getting deeper with the rise of stock prices of their company.

Seeing the look on their faces, Sasuke could see he had them already in the palm of his hand.

But then his curious eyes searched across the room looking for something or someone.

"By the way who was supposed to be in charge when Hyuga Hiashi is not around?" he asked.

"His daughter, Hyuga Hinata, the heiress of the Hyugas." One of the gentlemen in the room answered.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"And why is she not here? Didn't anyone inform her she was supposed to be here?"

"Well since her father's death she hasn't stepped foot here and it has been hard to reach her." The same gentleman answered Sasuke.

Sasuke scoffed almost rolling his eyes at the news.

_Tch, I'm sure her ego is too big to be here to watch whiles her worst enemies take the company she was to inherit from her. Typical Hyuga._

Just then, his phone begun to ring. It was his father.

_Right on time._

Sasuke got up to address the people in the room.

"Ladies and gentlemen, excuse me I have to take this." And with this Sasuke stepped out to receive the call.

….

* * *

As soon as Ko opened the door, Hinata stepped out of the car with poise and elegance like a true heiress of the Hyuga with her head held high infront of the reporters, despite the turmoil inside her.

The reporters quickly swarm over to her like bees over nectar but Ko was quick to shield her from being overwhelmed by them. Without answering all the numerous question thrown to her from all sides, Ko guided her safely into the building.

Away from the eyes of the reporters, Hinata let out a breath she was holding too fast almost making her choke because of her urgent need of fresh air into her lungs. She was almost losing her composure but Ko was there to calm her down.

"Easy, Hinata-sama." He soothed rubbing a hand gently at her back.

She was gradually gaining her composure but the worry and uncertainty in her eyes gave her away.

"Ko….I don't think I ca-"

"Yes you can, Hinata-sama. We have come this far and there is no turning back. Remember I'm here by your side." Ko reassured her.

But…

Itachi's cold merciless eyes flashed through her mind almost making her knees knock each other.

She was afraid to meet those unfeeling eyes again and she didn't think she could stand one more of his hurtful words.

But just then, some workers who had seen her rushed over to her as soon as they spotted her.

"Hianta-san!" called out to Hinata to alert them of their presence.

One of the women grabbed Hinata with a concerned look in her eyes.

"How have you been Hinata-san?"

Hinata nodded in affirmation to assure her that she was well. She gave her a grateful smile for her corcern.

But then the woman's face turned grave.

"Hinata-san not be insensitive but I am sure you are here because the shocking things happening here this morning."

One guy stepped forward to talk.

"Hinata san you are needed right this instant at the conference room. We might not be Hyugas but we still don't like what is going on about the new head being no one other than our rivals the Uchihas. Our loyalty is with you and we are with you in each step of the way. We need you to be our voice up there, Hinata-san."

If Hinata had any fear of what she had to do to,it was all gone with the support and confidence her employees had in her. She was renewed with confidence than ever before and fired up for action.

She nodded at them with a smile.

"Thank you all for your loyalty, I won't let you down."

And with that she turned to Ko to give a nod that she was ready.

"Shall we?"

…..

* * *

They made their way up to the conference and when they got there, Ko opened the door for Hinata to walk in earning looks of surprise from the board as she strut in further to stand before them. Ko excused himself to look for Hiashi's former PA that called Hinata earlier.

Hinata smiled at them.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I hope you can pardon me for my lateness."

They chorused a greeting in return to hers.

She let her eyes scan the room, and let a confusion crease her delicate brows.

"I thought Mr. Uchiha was holding the meeting here." she more of stated than ask her question.

"He just stepped outside a few minutes ago to receive a call." One of the members bothered to answer.

"Oh I see." She cleared her throat to continue. "And what is exactly is he holding this meeting for?"

A file was tossed over for her to read.

She bent over a bit with her hand supporting her on the table as she read.

She looked in and read the familiar contents she read from the funeral. The documents of her father signing everything to the Uchihas.

Hinata sighed heavily.

"You knew about this didn't you?" One person quizzed her from her reaction.

She nodded heavily.

"Yes I found out at the funeral. I didn't mean for you to find this out like this." She said with apology in her voice.

She then noticed something she missed earlier when she entered.

"Where are the rest of you? Weren't they also called to the meeting?" she asked taking in the empty seats in the room.

The room then fell into strange silence.

But just then the door opened and there entered Sasuke who halted in his tracks with his eyes widen substantially with the sight before him.

On the phone, his father wanted him to finish up quickly so he could come over to the office to report directly to him how things went over at his side. After the call he decided to make a quick turn to the bathroom before he joined the board in the conference room.

But when he was done and made his way to the conference room, the sight that was before him when he opened the door could bring any healthy straight man to a halt where he stood.

Before him was about the most impressive ass Sasuke had ever seen. And Sasuke had seen a great number of fine ass. But this one tops them all. Even Yoshino would be jealous.

This was more accentuated with her bent over a bit to bring out its fullness and beauty.

And to match such a masterpiece was and equally impressive curvaceous figure from what he could see from behind clad in a v neck form fitting black office dress with a brown belt secured around her tiny waist. She had long luscious beautiful hair in an interesting shade of indigo spilling over her shoulders and her back to her tiny waist which flare into broad round womanly hips and not forgetting her delectable behind held tightly in her dress which ended a few inches above her knee to reveal long creamy fully legs.

Sasuke had to exert great effort not to salivate like a dog there and then before the board.

He was definitely taking this girl's number. He didn't know the Hyuga had a bombshell working here. He would have already helped his father to speed up the take over long ago. He just couldn't wait for her to turn so he could ascertain she was truly a ten.

As if to answer his prayers, the angel did him the favour of turning and Sasuke found himself jumping in elation, in his head of course, when his hungry eyes finally met her more than generous chest.

She was a twelve out of ten.

Sasuke was definitely going to have this girl.

To finally seal the deal, he tore his eyes from her chest to her face and just at that moment Sasuke could feel his face fall off and all that hot air in his head deflate with the speed of light.

…..

* * *

Hinata's heart begun to pound rapidly when she heard the door open indicating…

_Itachi was back._

She couldn't turn to look at him that instant as the sudden fear gripped her as she felt his presence behind her. She was at that moment lost and didn't know what to do at the moment.

But then the hopeful looks of the employees and their loyalty and confidence in her set her straight to steel herself to face him. With determination and resolve, she spun around to face him only to be knocked out in shock at the unexpected sight before her.

It wasn't Itachi that came here. It wasn't Itachi before her. He could pass as his slightly younger self but definitely not him.

It was instead his younger brother, Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha.

And if looks couldn't do the trick to tell it wasn't Itachi, the fact that this guy was blatantly staring at her chest with no intention of subtleness of this manner of perversion gave away the truth.

_This was definitely not Itachi. Itachi has way more class than this._

And in that instant Hinata was more repulsed than disappointed.

…..

He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe the ridiculousness of the situation. Someone was playing a cruel joke on him.

Upon all the many women in the world, how could this happen. How could all these heavenly assets be wasted on….

How could she be…

A HYUGA!

**Reviews Please!**

"


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys. I know I said in the previous chapter I was going AWOL for sometime, but luckily I have a short vac and I was able to write something. this was actually supposed to be part of the previous chapter but that would have been too long...and my fingers were tired from typing. after he awesome reviews you guys, I don't how I would have been able to sit down watching movies instead of updating. you guys are so awesome I just don't know what to say. Thanks so so much for reading and supporting this story. you guys are what keep the story moving. so if you don't hear from me for a while after this, then either I am working on my other stories or back to school. This chapter is not as emotionally involved as the previous ones, so it might seem kinda bland for those looking for that factor. I hope you still like it, and if anything is on your mind, please let me know through your review. A big Thank you to my terrific reviewers: DAngel7, Milkshakecat200(sorry for the insomnia, lol), FallenHime(I love long reviews no need to apologize. Don't believe me, ask Divinity-fan.), sngsngsnyrslp, misao97(you made me go back to the story to laugh at that part, hehe.), Rachael886, Luvhinata(so glad you liked the long chappie. This one ain't long though), Orisweatshirt, Divinity-fan( thanks so much for the corrections, they are so true. And thanks for the long and lovely review. I always look forward to it.), kandita, Try To Hard Ninja and jprefe(I could stop blushing when I read you actually google Yoshino to find out if she were a character from another anime. Fortunately or unfortunately she is not. Yoshino is an OC and I am one proud mama.) Thank you followers, favourite-ers and all readers! Ciao!**

* * *

_Previously….._

Before him was about the most impressive ass Sasuke had ever seen. And Sasuke had seen a great number of fine ass. But this one tops them all. Even Yoshino would be jealous.

This was more accentuated with her bent over a bit to bring out its fullness and beauty.

And to match such a masterpiece was an equally impressive curvaceous figure from what he could see from behind, clad in a v neck form fitting black office dress with a brown belt secured around her tiny waist. She had long luscious beautiful long hair in an interesting shade of indigo spilling over her shoulders and her back to her tiny waist, which flare into broad round womanly hips and not forgetting her delectable behind held tightly in her dress which ended a few inches above her knee to reveal long creamy legs.

Sasuke had to exert great effort not to salivate like a dog there and then before the board.

He was definitely taking this girl's number. He didn't know the Hyuga had a bombshell working here. He would have already helped his father to speed up the take over long ago. He just couldn't wait for her to turn so he could ascertain she was truly a ten.

As if to answer his prayers, the angel did him the favour of turning and Sasuke found himself jumping in elation, in his head of course, when his hungry eyes finally met her more than generous chest.

She was a twelve out of ten.

Sasuke was definitely going to have this girl.

To finally seal the deal, he tore his eyes from her chest to her face and just at that moment Sasuke could feel his face fall off and all that hot air in his head deflate with the speed of light.

…..

Hinata's heart begun to pound rapidly when she heard the door open indicating…

_Itachi was back._

She couldn't turn to look at him that instant as the sudden fear gripped her as she felt his presence behind her. She was at that moment lost and didn't know what to do at the moment.

But then the hopeful looks of the employees and their loyalty and confidence in her set her straight to steel herself to face him. With determination and resolve, she spun around to face him only to be knocked out in shock at the unexpected sight before her.

It wasn't Itachi that came here. It wasn't Itachi before her. He could pass as his slightly younger self but definitely not him.

It was instead his younger brother, Sasuke.

Sasuke Uchiha.

And if looks couldn't do the trick to tell it wasn't Itachi, the fact that this guy was blatantly staring at her chest with no intention of subtleness of this manner of perversion gave away the truth.

_This was definitely not Itachi. Itachi has way more class than this._

And in that instant Hinata was more repulsed than disappointed.

…..

He couldn't believe this. He couldn't believe the ridiculousness of the situation. Someone was playing a cruel joke on him.

Upon all the many women in the world, how could this happen. How could all these heavenly assets be wasted on….

How could she be…

A HYUGA!

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

_A Hyuga._

The masterpiece of an ass he was entranced by belonged to…

_A Hyuga._

The woman…..the first woman he gave a twelve out of ten without even seeing her face was…

_A Hyuga._

The woman who gave him this painful blue balls infront of all these board members was no one other than…..

Sasuke wanted to put his head in a toilet and flush it.

Upon everything he was thankful he had his hands in his pockets to hide it, but those eyes, those absolutely awful, mood killing, cock blocking Hyuga white eyes of hers had made hiding his little (big) problem now, unnecessary.

Her face looked familiar. Well it could be so because in Sasuke's mind all the Hyugas had faces made of rocks, with the same freakish empty white eyes, which made one Hyuga look like the next.

But her body didn't look familiar. And to think such a divine thing could belong to a Hyuga.

It was such a waste that it pissed him.

So bad.

But what pissed him off the most was the fact that a few seconds ago, he had already played out how he was going to take her number, go on a date or two with her which all ended with her in his bed.

Without clothes.

Yes. Sasuke Uchiha, one of the two heirs to the Uchiha dynasty, had fantasized about bedding a Hyuga.

Sasuke couldn't help but think of Itachi's eyes gleaming with mockery as he had a ball from his misery.

And all it took was a look into those despicable white eyes, for Sasuke's fantasy world to come crushing at his feet. Loudly.

He was beyond pissed and the scowl on his hardened face was there to prove that fact.

"Who are you?" the suddenness and sharpness of his voice made Hinata almost jump.

But she took in a breath to compose herself to hold his burning gaze.

"Hyuga Hinata, vice president and heiress of The Hyuga Conglomerate." She announced with her head lifted high, making Sasuke deepen his scowl at her.

So he, Sasuke Uchiha one of the two heirs of the Uchiha dynasty had fantasized about bedding the heiress of the Hyuga Conglomerate.

It would have made one classic plot for a romantic melodrama that Itachi would do spend a fortune to have front row seats to watch it, with popcorn and soda. Sasuke couldn't help but think.

Hinata didn't like the way he looked at her chest.

She didn't like the way he looking at her face right now.

She didn't like the way he was blatantly scowl at her. And for some reason it unsettled her how he asked her who she was like she was a no body.

Hinata didn't like to write people off before she got to know them, but eventhough he looked like Itachi an awful lot, she didn't like this guy's attitude and she didn't want anything to do with him. But she couldn't help but want to have a little revenge of her own when she opened her mouth to also ask:

"And who are you supposed to be?" eventhough she knew perfectly well who he was. Itachi had mentioned him a couple of times.

She didn't know why but she enjoyed seeing how her question made his jaw tighten and the heat in his glare increase.

Hinata wasn't sure there was an instance she enjoyed purposefully provoking anyone since it was her nature to always compromise for the sake of peace in most situations, even when she was right.

But then Hinata was taking aback with a sadistic smirk that stretched his lips slightly, his eyes going a few shades darker.

"I am the one going to take all those titles from you, Hyuga."

Hinata could just stand there wide eyed and speechless.

She didn't expect him to be this blunt. She didn't expect him to be so bold to say out loud his not so warm but malicious intentions towards her infront of all the board members present.

She knew they were both from enemy clans and they had every right to hate each other, but this was the first time they had actually met and talked and she didn't expect him to be so rude, so ruthless and shamelessly unsubtle about it.

Just then, there was a knock followed by Hiashi's former PA, Saruhi Akamine entering and carrying a number of files with her. She was a middle aged woman, with short curly dark locks, dark brown eyes behind glasses and dressed impeccably in sharply ironed wine ladies officesuit with matching skirt, finishing the look off with a pair of black kitten heels.

She came to a halt when her eyes fell on the Hyuga heiress, her eyes filled with relief and happiness at seeing her here, well and ready to fight for her company. Saruhi gave Hinata a small bow to greet her.

"Welcome Hinata san. It's good to see you again"

Hinata also returned the gesture.

"It's good to see you, too Akamine san." Hinata straightened herself to give the woman a warm smile. Sasuke couldn't help but be surprised a Hyuga was able to pull off a smile and a warm smile more or less.

_She is one strange Hyuga._ Sasuke decided.

He turned to the woman who seemed to have forgotten his presence with an annoyed look.

"You sure took your time, Akamine."

Saruhi stiffened at his voice. She schooled her face into a neutral look as she turned to address him without eye contact.

"My printer broke and so I had to find another one." She explained herself without apology.

"Hn." Sasuke could care less. "Distribute them."

Saruhi's face cringed at his order and her body refused to move it.

Sasuke turned to see the woman still standing there unmoving. His eye begun to twitch.

"Did you not hear me? Distribute. The. Files." Sasuke ordered, this time his voice impatient and in a deadly tone.

Saruhi bit her lip in dread but did not move from where she stood.

Hinata was upset at how Sasuke was talking to Saruhi.

It made her realise he wasn't just rude to her, but he seemed to be rude to everyone.

Saruhi Akamine had been by her father's side for many years as his PA and Hinata took her as her somewhat aunt. She knew everything about the Hyugas and Hinata and her father also knew about how almost all her salary went into paying hospital bills for her ill son. But she was loyal, painfully so to her father, and that was why she stood in distress not heeding to Sasuke's order.

Hinata was still trying to get into the bottom of this mess and didn't want to entangle anyone especially someone who had nothing to do with this family feud.

Saruhi was crumbling under Sasuke impatient and heated glare but still remained unmoving, she lifted her eyes to Hinata's and Hinata could see she wanted to know if it was alright to take the order.

Saruhi didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be treated this way by Sasuke.

But Saruhi couldn't afford to lose this job. Her son's life depended on it.

Hinata gave her a slight nod to heed the order, so as to make the little interaction go undetected by Sasuke. Saruhi stood a moment longer as if to ask Hinata if she was sure of her decision but went ahead to distribute the files to the board members.

But Sasuke's sharp eyes had caught the exchange, and it angered him.

_Is she trying to prove she had more authority here than me?_

He was going to show her who was in charge here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you open your files, you would see a document requiring your signatures to show that you have witness the takeover and that you are now part of this extension of the Uchiha dynasty. You can take your time to go through for anything you might not agree with, but I am taking your signatures, today." Sasuke announced to the board before turning to smirk at Hinata's startled face.

Hinata now understood Saruhi's hesitation earlier. She had seen already seen it.

Hinata turned to the board members and felt her heart drop at seeing some of them signing the papers already.

"What are you doing?" Hinata almost gasped, unable to believe what is going on before her.

One member sighed before turning to speak to her.

"My dear, you must understand from the number that stayed behind how it's important for our shares to be in a good place. There is no place for emotions in the world of business."

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. The only thing she could made sense of from all the man said was the realisation of the members being absent not being in favour of the take over. Eventhough a good number was absent, those who stayed behind outnumbered them.

She cast her eyes down in disappointment, remembering how her own family threw her away because of money.

"So what you are saying is your loyalty can easily be bought." Hinata said in a quiet voice, as if talking to herself, and the board members found themselves unable to look into her eyes from shame.

Hinata stood there still, with her eyes strained at one spot on the table, seemingly in deep thought before she seemed to wake up from it suddenly, to regard the board members with a blank look on her face but with some iciness to her eyes.

"I would see you when I take back my company." With words served on ice, she turned away and without even sparing Sasuke a glance, she walked past him to exit the room.

Sasuke blinked for moment not able to believe what had just happened.

_Did she just…..ignore me?_

He grounded his teeth in rage.

_How dare she…._

He remembered how she walked past him as if he didn't exist.

Sasuke clenched his fist.

He remembered her words before she left.

_"__I would see you when I come back for my company."_

_How dare she act so arrogant towards me? How dare she ignore me? How dare she act like I do not exist?_

One thing Sasuke hated was being ignored.

No one ignored him. No one ignored Sasuke Uchiha. And he was going to make that point clear to her.

…

* * *

"Hinata-sama." Ko called up to the heiress as soon she walked out of the conference. He had been outside waiting for her when he came with Saruhi but close enough to hear what happened inside. He knew it was Sasuke who came instead of Itachi and he wanted to go inside to face him settle things from their confrontation the day before, but he remained outside smiling proudly at how Hinata handled Sasuke.

Now she met him with a serious face.

"You heard?" She asked and he nodded.

"I need to talk to the rest of the employees. I need to make them understand something." She declared.

"They are already gathered in one of the meeting rooms downstairs, awaiting news of the board meeting." Ko announced to her. Hinata's ears perked up at this.

"That's good. Then lets not make them wait any longer."

…

* * *

"How was your little vacation, Itachi?" Fugaku asked the young man sitting across him in his office with his eyes fixated outside the huge window.

"I was under the impression I was here for an important meeting." Itachi pointed out in a bored tone without tearing his eyes from the window.

"We still don't have everyone here for this important meeting to commence." Fugaku said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Itachi sighed inaudibly.

"It didn't seem like Sasuke was done when you were with him on the phone earlier." Itachi said allowing impatience to seep through his voice.

Fugaku let the mischief grow livelier in his dark orbs.

"We don't need Sasuke for this meeting. We are actually waiting for, one Hyuga Hinata. Did I get her name right, Itachi?"

Itachi immediately detached his eyes from the window to his father's mocking face, but his eyes telling him he was being serious about Hinata coming over.

"And what is the purpose of her coming?" he asked holding his father's eyes with his piercing ones.

"You seemed to have forgotten all we discussed the day you came over to the mansion. She is just coming over to finalize things."

Itachi continued to stare at his father's face as if to be absolutely sure his father was speaking the truth before he turned to face the window again.

"I see."

"We are yet to call her to come and we need your services for-"

"I am not calling her." Itachi cut in sharply not sparing his father a glance.

"I don't need you to call her. I just need her number." Fugaku said in feigned innocence.

Itachi turned to cock an eye brow at his father.

"I could have gotten it behind you, but just decided to take it directly from you…..let say for the little….very, very little respect I had for what you both had." Fugaku added.

Itachi couldn't help but allow a deep chuckle escape his lips at his father's incredulousness.

"Don't disappoint me, dad. I thought you were a better liar than this. You can tell Koga to call her already. I know you already have her number by now."

A sly smirk appeared on Fugaku's lips.

"Ah you know me too well son. Should I be worried?"

"Unless you have a reason to." Itachi threw back giving his father a challenging look.

Fugaku held his son's gaze steadily as he pressed a button on his receiver.

"Koga, you can call her now."

…..

* * *

Hinata stood before the employees, watching their faces fall at the news she just gave them, with a heavy heart.

"So this means we are going to lose our jobs." One young lady said with a look of distress on her face.

"No, this is just a change of management, I don't think it would require you losing your jobs, that is if you don't provoke it." Hinata explained.

"But we were employed by and worked for the Hyugas. We can't just switch over to work for the enemy, Hyuga san." One man said with nods of agreement from the rest of the employees.

Hinata smiled gratefully at them.

"I really appreciate your great loyalty to us, but please don't lose your jobs over a feud between two families. I won't be able to live with myself knowing you lost your livelihood because of something that is not your fault. Please bear with the new management and have patience with this temporary situation because I would surely come back to claim back this comp-"

Before she could finish what she was saying, she was pulled roughly from behind by the arm to meet Sasuke's burning coals bore into her eyes. She could only stare at him with her eyes as wide as saucers from the shock of seeing how furious he was. She could practically feel the heat of his anger emanate from every fibre of his being and burn her skin. It scared her.

"Who the hell do you think you are going round my company and demeaning my authority like I don't exist, huh Hyuga?" He seethed through gritted teeth as he painfully increased his hold on Hinata's hand making her flinch.

Out of nowhere Sasuke was also grabbed roughly by the arm to meet the furious eyes of Ko.

"Let go of her, whelp."

Sasuke could feel his anger shoot to the roof at the sight of Ko.

"You owe me a punch from yesterday. Don't make me add a second one. You wouldn't be able handle it. Let go of me this instant." Sasuke warned in a tightly controlled voice.

"You owe me a beating from yesterday. Let go off my mistress first."

"I don't negotiate with peasants." Sasuke bit back.

"Nor do I negotiate with brats." Ko countered.

Sasuke increased the grip on Hinata's hand surely bruising her soft skin and pulled her hard towards him, making Hinata gasp. Some of the employees stood up at this, seeing things were getting heated up.

Ko ground his teeth at Sasuke manhandling Hinata.

"Don't make me break your face in front of all these people."

Sasuke smirked darkly at this.

"I dare you to."

It became a war of testosterone as the two men glared at each other to see who would crack first before their audience.

Hinata had to stop this. She saw how Ko was trying to contain himself and not attack Sasuke because of her eventhough he was provoking him to. She knew it wasn't going to be long before his patience run out. She had to stop this before it came to that.

As her last resort to stop an ensuing fight, she brought her index and middle fingers of her free hand and swiftly jabbed a pressure point around Sasuke's wrist instantly making Sasuke let go of her hand without his control. Sasuke jolted from the sharp contact to his arm and whipped his head to see Hinata free from his hold without him ordering his hand to.

He soon realised he couldn't control hand properly from the jab.

He narrowed his eyes dangerously at the heiress.

"What did you?" Sasuke growled at her.

"It's the Hyuga body arts. For a member of an inferior clan as yourself, there would be no need to explain such distinguished arts of the Hyugas to you. You don't have the capacity to comprehend it. All that you need to know is your hand might not work properly for maximum 30 minutes and that's only because Hinata sama was merciful."

Ko explained as he dropped Sasuke's arm unceremoniously before standing before Hinata protectively.

"If you want to keep at least one arm working within that period of time, don't try anything funny, Uchiha." Ko warned.

Sasuke couldn't believe the ridiculousness of the situation. His eyes kept on burning into Hinata's with pure rage. His eyes told her of the many excruciatingly painful ways he was going to make her pay for what she had done to him infront of all these people, each one more painful than the next, and he wasn't being subtle about it at all.

Hinata was now genuinely scared. The raw killer intent oozing his glare elicited goosebumps all over her body to prove that. No one had ever looked at her in that way before. It was too much for her.

She quickly turned to the employees to wish them good bye.

"Take care of yourselves."

She turned to Ko and tugged at his arm, whispering to him.

"Lets go please." Ko could feel her uneasiness under Sasuke glare.

Throwing one last nasty look at the Uchiha who still had his vengeful eyes trained on his mistress, he led her by the small of her back to exit the room.

Sasuke never took his eyes off Hinata or the spot he saw her leave through.

He hated Hyugas. But what he felt for Hinata went beyond that.

She made him hate himself for ever being entranced by her body.

He hated Hyugas.

But he hated Hinata Hyuga with a passion.

It burnt through ever fibre and core of his body and took completely hold of his mind and body. And all he think of was his dying thirst for revenge.

….

* * *

Hinata let a breath she was holding escape her lips as soon as she was guided safely into the car. Ko joined her and quickly turned to her in concern.

"Hinata sama is everything ok?"

Hinata shut her eyes tightly as Sasuke hate filled eyes flashed through her mind.

It terrified her.

"Did you see how he stared at me?" There was a shakiness to her voice as she asked her question.

Ko sighed at this.

"Are you feeling guilty, Hinata sama?"

"I think I might have hurt him." Hinata said with guilt.

"Don't feel guilty, Hinata sama. I was actually very proud of you to today." Ko confessed and Hinata snapped her eyes open at this.

"Really? I just practically conceded defeat in there."

Ko shook his head with a smile on his face.

"No you didn't, Hinata sama. You were awesome in there. The way you handled yourself in a dignified way and declared that you would be back for your company and most of all how you handled the Uchiha was just impressive. You actually saved him from a beating from me, you know."

Hinata giggled and blushed furiously at Ko's words.

She grabbed Ko's hand and gave him a look of gratitude.

"It's all thanks to you, Ko. I wouldn't have come this far without you giving me a good shaking."

Ko winced at the memory of his bitter words at Hinata the day before, the burn of embarrassment still fresh.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I'm glad you that, Ko. I needed it." She said in a soft soothing voice which made a smile stretch Ko's lips again.

At that moment, Hinata's phone begun to ring.

She picked up the phone to look at the unknown number displayed on her screen with confusion before she answered.

"Hello."

"Is this Hinata Hyuga I am speaking to?" the caller, an unfamiliar male voice asked.

"Yes, and who am I speaking to please?"

"This is Koga, Uchiha Fugaku Sama's right hand man. I am to inform you that you are needed at the Uchiha building for an important meeting."

Hinata froze at that moment making Ko give her a questioning look.

_Uchiha Fugaku wants to see me? But why?_

"…..And what is this meeting supposed to be about?" Hinata inquired with uncertainness in her voice.

"I am sorry Hyuga san, but the only information I am to divulge to you is that it would be in your utmost best interest to come. Good day, Miss." The phone then went dead.

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

_What kind of game was Fugaku Uchiha trying to play here? He sends his son to finalize the take over and now wants me to come over to him. What is he planning?_

"Hinata sama, whats the matter?" Ko asked in response to the strange look on Hinata's face.

"Fugaku Uchiha…..he wants to see me."

Ko also furrowed his eyebrows.

"But why?"

"I don't know… The only way to find out is to go." Hinata answered.

Ko gave her a look.

"Are you sure?" he asked uncertainty in his voice.

She nodded.

"Yes. I can't keep running away from my problems." She answered clearing Ko doubts, delighted at this new side of his mistress.

"Ok let's go find out what he wants then." Ko turned to start the car, to put his words to action.

…..

* * *

"Come in, Koga." Fugaku invited the said man after he knocked.

Koga entered and walked to Fugaku's side of the table with files in his hand.

"Here is what you asked for Fugaku sama." Koga said handing the files to Fugaku.

"Aa thank you Koga." Fugaku said accepting the files and tossing one infront of Itachi.

Itachi just rose an eyebrow at this.

"Well, open it." Fugaku motioned for him to do so for emphasis.

Itachi just picked it up and opened it, and at that moment, he felt like rubbing his temples.

The file contained pictures and profiles of ladies from prominent families. To be exact candidates for the position of Mrs. Itachi Uchiha.

"I didn't know you were into organizing beauty pageants." Itachi said monotonously still looking through the file contents disinterestedly. "New hobby?" Itachi made no effort to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

Fugaku just looked at him in silence.

"Koga, please leave us." Fugaku ordered not moving his hard stare from a nonchalant Itachi.

Koga hesitated, not please by how he was being left out of whatever they were to talk about again, but just nodded and made his departure in silence.

"I'm glad you find your dates beautiful. All that's left is for you to meet them and choose one of them to be your bride."

Itachi unceremoniously dropped the file on the table and gave his father a hard cold stare.

"I'm doing no such thing."

Fugaku gave a dry chuckle at this.

"You talk like you have a choice in this matter, son."

"You talk like you didn't hear me when I said I decide who I am going to marry and the conditions under which I'm going to do so."

And then it was Fugaku's turn to fix Itachi with a hard stare of his own.

"With your deplorable taste in women? No. not when you have proven to be capable of dragging anything on the streets into your bed." Fugaku shot at his son, making Itachi's face harden into a frightening look.

"I would have to ask you to watch your words for your own good, father. I cannot promise you I would remain calm the next time you repeat them." Itachi's aura was lethal and his voice the sound of death.

"Don't you dare threaten, boy." Fugaku hissed back, clearly losing his patience with his son.

The two Uchiha men glared at each other with such intensity that could start a fire.

They remained like this for a while before Fugaku's office phone rang. Without breaking his stare Fugaku pressed a button to receive the call.

"Yes."

"Fugaku sama, Miss Hinata Hyuga is in." Koga's voice erupted from the phone.

There was a waver in Itachi's glare for a second.

Fugaku mocked him with a smirk.

"Escort her in, Koga." Fugaku replied before cutting the line, with his smirk still in place.

"Oh, should I have waited to ask you if it was okay for her to come?" Fugaku asked in mocked innocence which only earn him icy cold silence from Itachi.

There was a knock on the door and upon Fugaku's invitation, the door was opened and Koga emerged who made way for the Hyuga heiress to step in.

She stopped as soon as her eyes fell on the back of the familiar raven head with his hair almost always in a neat ponytail, with the protocol wild beating of her heart.

_Itachi_

He hadn't even turned to acknowledge her presence. It made her remember his cold demeanour and cruel words to her when he broke things off with her and when she went to his apartment to talk to him. She felt her heart constrict and her composure shake at the memory.

"Hyuga san." Hinata snapped from her thoughts at the sound of Koga calling her. She looked up the man who had a hand extended towards the seated men to beckon her closer.

She nodded and walked closer and that was when her eyes met Fugaku Uchiha's emotionless stony face, but his eyes were affixed to her with a strange look in them. It unsettled her but she didn't show it.

She gave him a small bow.

"Good morning, Uchiha san." She greeted in a crisp polite tone.

Fugaku cleared his throat and nodded in response.

"Have a seat." It almost sounded like an order.

The said seat was next to Itachi.

A lump formed in her throat at this realisation.

Koga moved the chair back for her, and Hinata slowly and stiffly took her seat, giving him a nod of gratitude.

Her posture was stiff and unrelaxed being next to Itachi like this. She didn't dare to turn her head at him.

_If I pretend he is not here, I would be fine._

Fugaku didn't want her to be fine.

"It doesn't seem like you have formally met my son, Itachi here. You both went to the same college, but it seems you two have not made acquaintance, counting the funeral out." Fugaku motioned to her side as if to remind her there was a living breathing creature right beside her.

The lump in Hinata throat grew bigger and painful. She pretending Itachi was sitting right beside her wasn't going to work. It would make Fugaku suspect something between she and Itachi which she was trying her best to avoid that at all cost.

She tried swallowing the lump in her throat.

"We have met, but briefly." She said.

_Bare faced liar. _Fugaku spat in his head.

"Oh, then let me introduce you to him properly. This is my eldest son Uchiha Itachi, the Chief Operating Officer and senior vice president of the Uchiha group and first heir to the Uchiha dynasty." The pride in Fugaku's voice could hit you in the face and cause you to bleed.

At this point Hinata was expected to turn and acknowledge Itachi's presence, and if necessary (very much so to Fugaku), look impressed.

Hinata preferred to be forced to eat seafood instead.

Her whole body became heavy like lead, and her raging heart seemed to want to break her rib cage. She gingerly turned her head with a tight smile on her lips to finally face the man by her side. She avoided his eyes at all cost and let her eyes fall somewhere on his shoulder.

"Its nice meeting you again…Uchiha san." She managed to say in a quiet voice.

Fugaku was having a ball at Hinata's immense discomfort and uneasiness. She looked like she would crack from the tension and anxiety.

"Likewise Hyuga-san. How have you been?" Itachi asked in a polite and pleasant tone, surprising both Hinata and Fugaku. He could feel his father's heated gaze on him which made him smirk inwardly.

Hinata almost snapped her eyes to his face in shock but caught herself before doing so.

_Was he trying to be funny? After the mess he left me in after he heartlessly broke up with me and his hurtful words at his apartment, he still asks me how I have been? And in that tone like nothing has happened?_

_Was he toying with me?_

Hinata felt her blood heat up at this. She dared to lift her eyes to his for him to see the anger brewing inside them.

"I could be better." There was accusation in her eyes, all directed towards Itachi. Itachi remained silent and took it all in.

Hinata let her eyes linger for needed effect before she moved them to Fugaku's unamused face.

"Uchiha san, I was made to understand you had something to tell me." Hinata more of asked than stated.

"Yes, but I wasn't sure you were done introducing yourself to my son. It was only polite to wait." Fugaku cleverly wove the sarcasm through his harmlessly sounding words.

"O-Oh I see." Hinata replied awkwardly like she was caught stealing cookie from the jar.

Itachi narrowed his eyes at his father.

Fugaku satisfied, now took upon a business attitude.

"Hyuga Hinata, what are you willing to do to regain your father's assets?"

Fugaku's question took Hinata by a great surprise.

She blinked at him, not knowing what to make of his out of the blue question.

_Was this some kind of a trick? What was he trying to achieve from asking me this question? Why sending one of his sons to finalize the takeover of Hyuga towers and then ask me this question?_

With no response from Hinata, Fugaku was beginning to get impatient.

"Well?" He pressed.

_I have to see where he is getting with this. _

"Anything." Hinata answered determinedly.

Fugaku rose an eye brow at this.

"Anything?"

"Anything, Uchiha san." Hinata repeated herself firmly to clear any doubts. She held Fugaku's eyes to show her determination but for some reason, he broke the gaze to look somewhere else, confusing Hinata a bit.

He cleared his throat and sat back in his seat.

He turned to Koga to give him a meaningful nod, which he responded to it by handing over a file to Hinata.

"Inside the file is a contract, which states you would work for us here, no matter what work that is for 6 months, and in exchange you would be given half of your father's entire assets." Fugaku announced to Hinata, as she confirmed what he had just said from reading the contents of the file.

When Hinata was done reading the file, she was not impressed.

"When I said anything, I meant for everything, not half, Uchiha san." Hinata's voice was unrelenting.

Fugaku chuckled at this.

"You talk like you have any better options on your plate. It is half or nothing. Take it or leave it." Fugaku stated coldly.

Hinata stared at the man for some time before speaking.

"Is this how you got my father to sign those papers? Offer him something he couldn't refuse in exchange for his assets which at the end cost his life?"

Hinata's direct question hit a nerve and hit it real hard for Fugaku. Fugaku's face became hard and cold and his eyes blazed with anger.

"Your father only died because he had a weak heart." Fugaku jabbed cruelly which made something snap in Hinata.

"Uchiha san, I ask you to take back what you just said." Hinata's aura was that of cold fury.

"I never take back something I mean." Fugaku's obstinance was at its all-time high.

"So you claim he had a weak heart and that didn't stop you from cornering him and snatching everything from him. Is that no cowardice, Uchiha-san?" Hinata sniped back, barely able to calm her anger.

Fugaku had had enough. He wasn't going to put up with Hinata and her offensive remarks anymore. He was going to put her in her place once and for all. But before he could put that into action….

"Hyuga san." Both Hinata and Fugaku halted at Itachi's calling Hinata out of the blue..

They both turned to see him look at Hinata with what seemed like politeness but it was patronizing.

"Please calm down." He said calmly like he were talking to a child making Hinata's face flush with embarrassment.

"There is no need to get worked up like this when I made it clear to you before that your father had no option but sign those papers. Do you need me to go through the details with you again, Hyuga san?" his voice was gentle and patient, like one would do when trying to make sense to a child.

Hinata hated it.

He was patronizing her.

She grabbed unto the arm rest of her chair hard, trying to calm herself.

At least the cold and hurtful Itachi didn't treat her like a child.

She could tolerate him being harsh to her, but she couldn't stand this side of him.

"Saying a lie twice doesn't make it the truth, Uchiha san." Hinata replied in a tight voice.

"Oh, a lie? If so may I ask Hyuga san, after so many days after your father's death, what have you done to prove your claim that your father actually signing those papers of his own volition, was _a lie_?" Itachi quizzed allowing his eyes to pierce into Hinata's

She thought of the autopsy report and going to see the doctor this morning but that didn't prove anything. All she did after her father's death apart from mourning her father, was mourn and desperately try to fix the broken pieces of what was left of she and Itachi's relationship.

Itachi knew this very well. Too well.

And was punishing her with it.

And he made her know this fact with the triumphant gleam in his eyes telling her he had her where he wanted.

She was cornered and shamefully so.

Her face flared furiously with embarrassment and she couldn't keep eye contact with him as those eyes mocked every second she spent mulling over him instead of getting to the bottom of the circumstances surrounding her father's death.

To have him use this against her, made the irony of this situation painfully unbearable.

Hinata bit her lower lip hard.

He threw her under the bus and run her head over with it

"From your silence, we can safely assume you did nothing." Itachi concluded coolly

Hinata had to put great effort to stop herself from cringing visibly when he poured a whole bucket of salt on the injury with his words.

"So are we also safe to assume you are ready to sign the contract, Hyuga san?" Fugaku not wasting the window of opportunity Itachi had provided, also joined in their new found sport of cornering Hinata until she breaks.

_So this is how it happened…..this is what they did to you, daddy?_

Hinata's face stung with unshed tears at how helpless her father must have felt from being in his shoes at the moment.

She didn't know how things exactly played out, but from the away they had her against the wall, she was less surprised they managed to make her father sign those papers.

And to think that Itachi….

She shut her eyes to hold the tears.

She was now less surprised her father had a heart attack, as from the way her heart constricted painfully as it beat rapidly, she could only imagine what he went through with his ailing heart.

_Daddy…..what do I do?_

And out of nowhere she was hit by an epiphany.

This is where it happened. This is where it all happened.

_Did daddy really sign those papers?_

_What made him sign those papers?_

_Did he really just die from a heart attack as the autopsy said?_

_Was Itachi actually involved in making her father sign those papers?_

All the answers to those questions she had been asking herself over and over again…could be found here.

This means she could find a way to prove her father was somehow conned into signing those papers and recover everything back.

She would do anything to get everything and restore her father's honour.

That meant she would even agree to work for them for six months for half of her father's assets.

Working here would get her closer to the truth.

The truth would get her all of her father's possessions.

The fire of hope burst through Hinata again renewing her strength and determination.

She opened her eyes, took the contract to look through over and over again to make sure there were no bobby traps in it.

The three men in the room looked at Hinata like she had lost her mind. A second ago she looked like she was going to break down in tears before them. Now she….

She turned to Itachi with a confident smile in place and her eyes burning with determination and hope, holding his eyes challengingly.

She was going to find out, what was making him act strangely towards her, prove he had nothing to do with her father signing those papers like he wants her to believe and the reason why he wants her to do so.

"Where do I sign, Uchiha san?" Her voice was polite, and teasingly so.

She knew where to sign. She wanted him to amuse her. As payback.

The strange look that flashed in his eyes made her smile broaden.

He just blinked at her and pointed out where she had to sign.

"Do you have a pen I can borrow please?" she asked with her smile still in place.

Itachi wordlessly reached for a pen in his pocket and then he froze when he brought it out. Hinata's eyes widen in shock.

It was a beautiful handmade silver Alexander Kalifano fountain pen.

It came with a silver watch and card holder, Hinata gifted to him on one of his birthdays.

Hinata's smile was gradually turning into a grin.

_So you claim to have no feelings for me and break up with me, but still carry my pen around with you in your pocket… is it safe to assume…_

Hinata had to stop a grin from splitting her face into two at this and the priceless sight of Itachi, motionless with the pen in mid air, his eyes taking a stormy look.

How quickly the tables turned.

But she almost couldn't contain her happiness, because in her eyes this was enough prove for her that wasn't speaking the truth when he said he never had feelings for her.

She wanted to squeal.

"Oh you don't have to give it to me if you don't want to. It seems to be of sentimental value to you." Hinata couldn't help herself but take this opportunity to rub it in Itachi's face. It was too much fun.

Koga who was oblivious to what was happening and thought he was actually helping his boss get the Hyuga to sign those papers, fished out a less expensive and suitable pen to sign. And Hinata thanked him with a smile.

"It is indeed a beautiful pen. It must have come from a very thoughtful person with sophisticated taste" Koga provided innocently thinking it was from Fugaku. Itachi almost couldn't help himself from stabbing the man with a glare. He instead slowly dropped the pen into his pocket and fell into a deathly silence.

Hinata smiled at Koga, her pale cheeks dusted pink.

"The person must really cherish him a lot." Hinata said meaningfully, her smile turning wistful.

"The young master must also cherish this person a lot to carry it around with him." Koga added eagerly.

Hinata cheeks burnt with colour at this, with a bashful smile on her lips as she proceeded to sign the papers.

Itachi wanted to stab Koga's throat with the pen. Fugaku wanted throw him out from the window, with his heavy expensive desk tied around his neck.

Fugaku had caught on pretty fast to know the pen was from Hinata. He kept on shooting daggers at Itachi with his glare and he absolutely wanted to wipe the sheepish look he could see from his peripheral view on Hinata's face.

His tongue became bitter and heavy with accumulated venom begging to be unleashed.

_How dare she show such a face infront of me?_

Hinata finished and picked the file to hand it over to Fugaku. That is when she saw his eyes fixated sternly on Itachi, who completely ignored him. This confused Hinata. Koga took the file instead.

"Is there anything else Uchiha san?"

Fugaku moved his stern eyes to Hinata with a frightening blaze in them.

"You begin work tomorrow at 8. Be punctual. That would be all." He said curtly.

Hinata was surprised she was beginning work so soon and it was tomorrow.

"I look forward to working with you then, Uchiha san." She said masking her surprise.

Fugaku's eyes darkened.

"And one thing, Hyuga san. Make sure you don't get fired." He warned, his voice low and deadly.

Hinata blinked at him before standing to her feet.

"Good day, sir." She bid farewell, calling him sir this time to show him she was more than ready for the job and whatever they threw at her.

She turned her head slightly to the side towards Itachi to say good bye.

"Uchiha san."

"Hyuga san." He replied without looking at her.

Hinata smiled at this and turned leave.

"Koga, escort Hyuga san out." Fugaku ordered, his eyes back to Itachi.

"Yes, Fugaku sama." He gave a small bow and moved to lead the way out for Hinata.

Fugaku waited for them to be alone to speak.

"You still carry the pen she gave you around with you." Fugaku's tone was deadly.

"I don't owe you an explanation." Itachi bit back clearly not in the mood to talk.

"There is no need. Especially when you made it painfully obvious to the whole world you don't have feelings for the Hyuga. You almost fooled me there." The sarcasm screamed in every word Fugaku uttered.

"Is there another meeting we need to wait for someone else for?" Itachi asked completely ignoring Fugaku's statement earlier.

"You never fail to disappoint me when it comes to this girl. As if being Hyuga is not enough, she is bipolar too?" Fugaku also ignored Itachi's question, expressing his shock and disgust. He thought she was bipolar from how she turned from meek helpless damsel to kickass so fast.

Itachi gave an exasperated sigh and stood up.

"And that would be a no. I would be in my office." Itachi said dismissively turning away to leave.

Fugaku gritted his teeth in anger.

"If you don't want me to take drastic measures, Itachi, you would take one of these women I have presented to you and get married as soon as possible. Do not make me do something you would regret." Fugaku threatened and the venom in his voice showed he wasn't bluffing.

Itachi stood in his tracks, his back still facing his father.

"I would get married like you want, but I would choose who my bride would be." Itachi's voice was monotonous but uncompromising.

"I don't trust you." Fugaku stated bluntly.

Itachi turned his head to reveal a small amused smile that never reached his eyes.

"I don't trust you either. But I'm still getting married like you asked." And with that Itachi turned and left.

Fugaku glowered at the door Itachi had just left through.

_Respect my wishes_. That was what Itachi meant by his words.

Fugaku scoffed.

"I am not making that mistake again."

…

* * *

Ko got off the wall he was leaning on as soon as Hinata and Koga emerged from the room. Hinata turned to give Koga a smile that unnerved him.

"Thank you, Koga san."

He simply gave her a small bow and went to over to Fugaku's secretary to pick something from her desk before entering his office.

Ko let his eyes run up and down Hinata's form to check if she was in one piece before he spoke.

"What happened in there, Hinata sama?" He asked still on edge about her being alone in the room with those Uchihas.

She gave him an amused smile.

"I would explain everything to you when we get into the car." Hinata said eyeing Fugaku's secretary behind her desk.

"You are right. Let's go then." They turned and walked to the elevator. Ko pressed the down button of the left one when they were infront of the two elevators.

As they waited for the elevators to open, the door to Fugaku's office and then came out Itachi.

His eyes immediately found Hinata's. And Ko being the good body guard, came to stand infront of Hinata to block his view of her. Ko automatically went to fury mode the second the Uchiha appeared before him. The air in the surrounding atmosphere became charge as the two thunderclouds stood there glaring all types of weapons at each with no words shared between them.

Hinata had seen enough and the elevators seemed to agree with her, finally opening right on time.

She stepped from behind Ko and touched his hand so he would look at her.

"Let's go." She said and this time Ko simply nodded and turned. Before she turned to also leave, she turned her head around to meet Itachi's eyes on her, and she gave him a knowing smile.

The smile rubbed him wrong in many ways. And she knew it.

She joined Ko in the elevators her smile still in place before the doors closed.

A few seconds later, the other elevators opened to reveal no one other than Sasuke.

_If he had been here a few seconds earlier…. _

Itachi didn't want to continue that thought especially with just looking at his face.

One would have thought he and the guy smirking on the screens giving his great speech on how he was going take the Hyugas to hell, were completely different people.

Sasuke was practically breathing fire from his nostrils and his fiery eyes looked like they were out for blood.

Itachi didn't know who but he couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever the fellow was.

It had been long since he had seen Sasuke this mad and wondered what and who could have provoked him this much. Especially when he was back from doing about one of the things he had dreamed of: burying the Hyugas with his bare hands.

Sasuke's anger crazed eyes seemed to gain focus to finally recognize Itachi was before him, which seemed to make him angrier.

"Upon all the people I could meet at this point in my life." Sasuke seethed walking forward.

Itachi rose an eye brow at this.

"Weren't you the one who practically threatened me to be here today?"

"It wasn't meant to be this soon." Sasuke snapped back.

"I wished you had been clear on that." Itachi bit back.

Sasuke's attitude was worsening his foul mood from before.

"Yeah, me too." Sasuke stopped infront of his brother just to glare at him.

Itachi not being in the mood to deal with his little brother's issues, just walked around him and walked away.

And this pissed Sasuke beyond measure.

_Who the hell does he think away to walk away from a fight before it starts?_

Yes Sasuke wanted to take out his anger on his brother and was mad Itachi didn't give him the opportunity to.

He walked to his father's office with a trail of fire behind him.

…

* * *

There was a knock on Fugaku's door and before he could have the opportunity to invite the person in, Sasuke came barging through the door with a nasty scowl on his face.

One was creeping on Fugaku face at Sasuke's lack of manners, but his need to know how things went at the Hyugas, made him straighten his face to receive him.

Sasuke pulled a seat for himself and dropped the file infront of his father.

"These are the signatures of about 60% of the board. The rest are with the Hyugas." Sasuke stated crisply, the frown still on his face.

Fugaku looked at his son silently for a while.

"What happened? Your face looks like it would break off any second from now with that frown." Fugaku pointed out, his eyes demanding for answers.

Sasuke needed to vent or he was going to implode and explode at the same time. He couldn't waste the opportunity Fugaku had opened. Especially the fact that his father sitting down to listen to him was a rare event in itself, Sasuke had been wishing.

"That witch…that little Hyuga witch… I want break every bone in her body with my bare hands."

Fugaku halted, looking at his son in surprise. He never concerned himself with his son and his relationships with women, but one thing he knew was that he liked to sleep with them, not want to break their bones.

Even if she was a Hyuga, she was a woman. Sasuke was impatient and had a temper but he was way more lenient with women.

In fact, a woman had never got Sasuke this physically mad before. It made him more curious as to how Hinata was able to achieve this feat.

"What did she do?"

Sasuke took in a much needed breath to calm himself down enough to be able to speak long enough without spitting fire.

He took an extra breath to remove the first thing that came into his head.

Her ass. Her perfect rou-

"She came late, interrupted the meeting I had organised, ignored my existence entirely and went round telling the employees what to do,like she was the one in charge and that little witch poked me in the wrist and shut down MY. . ARM!"

Again Fugaku found himself taken aback.

_She used their arts on Sasuke._

Fugaku chuckled under his breath.

He couldn't believe that delicate looking woman that was in his office a few moments ago, who would eventhough offend you but make sure she is polite about it, actually got physical with a healthy full grown man like Sasuke.

And he was surprised he was beginning to get impressed with the enemy.

"What was funny about what I said?" Sasuke growled dangerously at his father.

"What she did to you wasn't witchcraft. She blocked signals from the brain to your arm, successfully stopping its movement." Fugaku explained still not removing the impressed look in his eyes. "Can you move the affected arm?"

Sasuke simply threw his arm out to prove it was working, his anger increasing by the second. Now he wished she was a witch.

She didn't use witchcraft. She practically manhandled me.

_Bitch._

"She was soft on you, son. If she was serious, your arm might have been out for almost the whole day. That's the Hyuga body arts for you"

_I hate this bitch._

And he hated the look on his father's face.

"Aren't you enjoying this too much, dad?" If it were anyone one else Sasuke was talking to, that would have been a death threat. "She said she would be back for her company." Sasuke added to wipe of the annoying smile off his father's face. He didn't look amused anymore.

"She would be back for company, huh?" Fugaku mulled over the words for some time, before breaking into a dark chuckle.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Fugaku continued.

"Your good friend was here a few moments ago." Sasuke's eyes widened at this. "She is going to start working for us tomorrow."

"Excuse me?" Sasuke blurted out in shock.

"She signed a contract to work for us for 6 months after which we would return half of her father's assets to her."

Sasuke dropped his hands loudly and heavily unto his father's desk, standing up to his feet as his seat couldn't contain the heat of his anger anymore.

"Half? Half of everything? The bitch deserves nothing!" Sasuke thundered, the murderous intent thick in his voice.

A wicked grin grew on Fugaku's face.

"Indeed. I have no intention of giving her not even dime of her father's fortune, because I need to make sure she doesn't finish the 6 months. I need her running out of her penniless, disgraced and in pieces such that whenever she hears the Uchiha name, she shudders and crumbles in horror." Fugaku said, his voice dark and sinister.

It was now Sasuke's turn to allow a wicked smirk on his face

He didn't want to break her bones anymore.

No.

He wanted to break everything of hers.

_Her mind._

_Her soul._

_Her spirit._

"I want her. I want Hyuga Hinata." Sasuke demanded and he wasn't taking no for an answer.

Fugaku's grin broaden liking how things where playing out.

"She is all yours."

Sasuke stood up right, his smirk turning into a grin identical to his father's sinister one, even more so.

When he is done with her, she wouldn't have the luxury of running out of her. She would have to crawl on all fours to escape the hell he would bring upon her.

_I have so many plans for you and I. Hyuga Hinata, you are mine._

* * *

**_Next update: Hinata begins work with the Uchihas._**

**_...And I am thinking of changing the title of the story. No change in pairings though._**

**_Reviews please!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi people! God its been too long and I miss you guys. I have been away for a while because I had reached a crucial point in my course where I had to throw myself into studies completely. The storm is over for now and its good to be back. But I must say, being away for this long has made me rusty and lost touch with my stories so I apologize in advance if you don't dig this chapter as much as the previous ones. I would do my best with the next one, but I had to put this out there. I want to thank you all for your support, for following favouriting and review, God your reviews almost had me abandon my books to start writing without a care. You guys are amazing, every single one of you. Ok so now I am officially rambling. **

**Let me leave you guys here to read and don't forget to review!**

* * *

_Previously…_

_"She said she would be back for her company." Sasuke added to wipe the annoying smile off his father's face. He didn't look amused anymore._

_"She would be back for company, huh?" Fugaku mulled over the words for some time, before breaking into a dark chuckle._

_Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion._

_Fugaku continued._

_"Your good friend was here a few moments ago." Sasuke's eyes widened at this. "She is going to start working for us tomorrow."_

_"Excuse me?" Sasuke blurted out in shock._

_"She signed a contract to work for us for 6 months after which we would return half of her father's assets to her."_

_Sasuke dropped his hands loudly and heavily unto his father's desk, standing up to his feet as his seat couldn't contain the heat of his anger anymore._

_"Half? Half of everything? The bitch deserves nothing!" Sasuke thundered, the murderous intent thick in his voice._

_A wicked grin grew on Fugaku's face._

_"Indeed. I have no intention of giving her not even dime of her father's fortune, because I need to make sure she doesn't finish the 6 months. I need her running out of her penniless, disgraced and in pieces such that whenever she hears the Uchiha name, she shudders and crumbles in horror." Fugaku said, his voice dark and sinister._

_It was now Sasuke's turn to allow a wicked smirk on his face_

_He didn't want to break her bones anymore._

_No._

_He wanted to break everything of hers._

_Her mind._

_Her soul._

_Her spirit._

_"I want her. I want Hyuga Hinata." Sasuke demanded and he wasn't taking no for an answer._

_Fugaku's grin broaden liking how things where playing out._

_"She is all yours."_

_Sasuke stood up right, his smirk turning into a grin identical to his father's sinister one, even more so._

_When he is done with her, she wouldn't have the luxury of running out of her. She would have to crawl on all fours to escape the hell he would bring upon her._

_I have so many plans for you and I. Hyuga Hinata, you are mine._

**Chapter 7**

"You did what?!" Ko all but screamed his lungs, staring at his mistress with a look of horror at what she had just told him.

After Hinata was done cringing at the deafening loudness of Ko's outburst, she let out an exasperated sigh knowing she had a lot of explaining to do before Ko could get anywhere near calm. She was glad they were at least in the privacy of their vehicle.

"That is the only way to get my father's possessions." She begun to explain but Ko started shaking his head vigorously,

"No, you said you were working for those pack of thieves for half of your possessions, half of your own possessions Hinata sama!" Ko voice seemed to get even higher and Hinata could see she only made matters worse instead of calming him down.

She tried again.

"That is what it says on paper, but that is not what is actually going to happen." Hinata pointed out.

Ko's face twisted to that of confusion.

"What?"

Hinata smiled in amusement at his confusion.

"I would work in the guise of working for half of everything whiles in actual fact I am working for them to be able to find out what actually happened to my father for him to sign everything to them, and as a result at the end when I am able to prove there was some kind of foul play with my evidence gathered, I would get everything back." Hinata confided barely able to hide her excitement.

Eventhough he seemed calmer now, Ko didn't seem convinced enough to join in the party.

"Hinata sama, your plan is brilliant and all, but these are Uchihas you are dealing with, the same ruthless scumbags who robbed your father of everything including his life. Do you think they would go through all that trouble to get everything from their sworn enemies just to give them half of everything again? Can't you see its way too good to be true and that there is a catch to all this, like the same thing they did to your father?" Ko seemed have lost all his energy to the frustration and hopelessness of the whole situation. He looked into Hinata's eyes with sorrow and dejection in the depths of his.

"They want to completely ruin you, Hinata sama." His voice almost cracked at the end.

Hinata shut her eyes at this.

"I know." Her voice was just a tad higher than a whisper.

And then she opened her eyes to show Ko's words never reached the hope burning in them as she held his eyes.

"I am well aware of this risk. But getting back everything, my inheritance and my father's legacy is worth every risk in the world." Hinata proclaimed fearlessly at Ko who had a lot to say about how crazy her decision was, but all were silenced by this fire of hope burning in her eyes, making her look like a new person to him.

He shut his eyes sighing loudly in defeat.

"Your father is going to turn in his grave at this."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"I know."

And then he opened his eyes to look at her with pride.

"But he is going to be proud of this courageous woman you have become." Ko said as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently, smiling at her.

"I hope so….. because I want to go and tell him myself from here." Hinata said, to tell Ko she wanted to visit her father's grave.

"And also see which direction he turned?" Ko blurted out not able to help himself.

"Ko." Hinata warned teasingly.

"I never said he would stop turning." Ko teased back, and Hinata squeezed his hand hard in retaliation, and giggled at his feigned yelp of pain.

…

* * *

Fugaku sat back in his office chair as he stared at the contract Hinata had just signed in his office agreeing to work for them for half of her father's possessions. And then her face flashed again in his head for more than once since she left.

He didn't like it.

He didn't like her face.

Nor the uncomfortable feeling it gave him in his chest.

It had started from the funeral. He had seen her a few times when she was younger and before the funeral but he wouldn't have been able to put a face to her if he were to remember her. But when he came face to face with her now as a grown woman at the funeral, he knew he was never going to forget that face of hers.

And he knew he wasn't going to like it.

But he thought it was just a passing thing, till she came to his office and he was before her face again.

And he felt something curl uncomfortably curl in his chest, that made he of all people have to look away.

And also because this time he felt his eyes sting when he looked at it for long.

Her face was an eyesore.

And it made his urge to break her to her very soul to pieces stronger, even beyond the fact that she was a Hyuga.

And when he thought of her feelings for his son, being so blatantly displayed on that face of hers even when she tried to pretend Itachi wasn't there, was just pathetic and sickening.

Fugaku let his eyes glance over the contract again.

6 months…..she was going to be working for them for 6 months, he was going to be seeing that unpleasant face of hers for 6 months.

But she wasn't going to last that long…..he was going to make sure she didn't last that long.

And he was going to enjoying watching that face of hers without looking away this time when he finally and completely crushes her soul with his bare hands.

And then he remember he didn't have to dirty his hands to accomplish that.

Sasuke was going to that for him.

Sasuke was the perfect person to crush her spirits with that gargantuan hatred he saw he didn't only have for just because she was a Hyuga, but because he despised her as a person.

It was going to be ironically cruel watching someone who looked so much like the man you love, turn your whole world into a living hell.

It made a sinister smile appear on Fugaku's face.

He was going to used Sasuke's profound hatred for her to destroy her, and he had her to thank for sparking that much hatred in Sasuke.

And he knew how his son could get carried away when provoked.

Fugaku's smile turned into a wicked grin.

_Hiashi, I hope you are watching and enjoying your view from hell. We would soon be sending your dautgther's crushed and battered will to live, to join soon._

…

* * *

Yoshino stretched out the stiffness in her arms after she had finished typing the batch she was working on. As she did, her eyes rested upon her beautiful bouquet of tulips kind courtesy of Itachi. A fond smile stretched her red lips.

Something she hadn't done much of during Itachi's disappearance, till he appeared this morning and made her smile again.

And she saw him smile again.

She took another look at the flowers.

She was still surprised by them. If anything she thought he would have just apologized and with a smile from him, there was no way she wasn't going to forgive him.

She never expected flowers. And most of all she never expected him to remember her favourite ones: purple tulips.

She remembered only mentioning it once as a passing statement when she saw them in the room at one of their business meetings. He didn't seem to be listening at all as he was engrossed with his phone at the time. Now that she thought back, she could have sworn she saw him pause and let something pass his eyes for a brief second when she had made her statement.

And it all made her insides feel giddy like a teenager.

She had already decided that she liked how things were with her and her boss: a professional relationship of mutual trust and respect. She wasn't expecting anything more and was content with him coming to work and greeting her with one of his small smiles.

But that didn't mean a girl couldn't dream, especially one who had fee-

Just then the door opened to reveal the person responsible for her insides turning to goo.

But the sight of him made her smile fall.

She just watched him quietly as he semi stormed wordlessly into his office.

Something was more than off with him. His face was blank but his jaw was set too firmly, his shoulders seemed stiffer and his strides were quicker and heavier, and this all gave an overall heaviness and dangerous aura to him.

Something else didn't sit well with her about his arrival.

She was used to him going in and out of office without a word to her after the ritual morning greetings when he first comes in but he would at least spare her a glance, but this time he didn't. It was like he didn't even realise she was there, like she didn't even exist.

And it made all the giddiness and fuzzy feeling on the inside shrivel in the coldness of disappointment.

And it made her come back to her senses.

To no read meaning and expect anything more from the polite gesture of her boss giving her flowers to ask for forgiveness.

And she should remain content with things as there, because in his eyes she was just his trusted PA and that should be enough for her.

She swallowed the painful lump in her throat called the truth, as she looked at her flowers one last time before she moved back to work on the next batch of work she had to type.

…

* * *

Itachi finally stopped when he closed the door behind him.

He cringed his eyes shut as his mind went to when he mistakenly brought out the pen Hinata gifted to him on his birthday, before all eyes to see.

If the migraine cracking his head open at the moment wasn't so crippling, he would have punch a hole through a wall.

And that smile, that hope that shone in her eyes when she saw him pull the pen out of his pocket, when she saw he still had the pen, mocked him and made his migraine crush his skull the more.

He felt like punching a hole through his face now instead.

He couldn't believe he made such a huge slip up.

His migraine was worsening by the second and had begun distorting his vision. He needed his painkillers. He trudged to his desk, and sat heavily behind it as he sluggishly reached out to the drawers to pull out his pills and pop them into his mouth. He then placed his head in his hands as he tried massaging out some of the pain from his temples.

But her smile, her big hopeful eyes still haunted him, mocking him to his face that he couldn't steal her hope from her, her hope that their love wasn't dead.

Itachi lifted his head.

He could absolutely not permit that. He couldn't let the hope of hers live. He was going to make sure he completely crushes it this time.

He picked out the pen from his pocket and he glared at it and then stretched his hand to the bin to hover the pen over it.

He had decided, he was going to get married as soon as possible.

…

* * *

Suigestu stood there with scalding hot coffee in his hand, crept out beyond measure as he stared at the weird expression on his boss' face trying to give a name to it.

He had watched Sasuke's face morph from anger to that of what looked like triumph but with a twisted edge to it, for the past five minutes and now they seemed to merge into this terrifying, weird and creepy thing on his face.

Suigestu decided he had seen enough of the freak show and walked forward to give Sasuke his 9th coffee since he arrived, which made him finally realise he had company with his coffee at hand. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Suigestu weird expression.

"How long had you been standing there?" it sounded more of a threat than a question.

Suigestu gave him a teasing grin.

"Long enough to see to my surprise that your face isn't only capable of just the emotion of anger as I thought."

Sasuke shot daggers at his personal assistant with his glare as he took a sip of his hot coffee.

They were quite familiar to that level where he could tease his boss without getting fired because they knew each other from high school.

Suigestu lifted an eyebrow at him.

"You realise the amounts of coffee you chug is a job on its own for whoever is serving it." Suigestu pointed out.

It was now time for Sasuke to lift an eyebrow at his PA.

"Is that a complaint I hear?" Sasuke asked with threat laced in his voice.

Suigestu lifted his shoulders.

"From where am standing I see it as just exercising my freedom of speech, if you take that away from me, then you officially become a slave driver."

Sasuke sat back in his chair to give Suigetsu a menacing smirk.

"If I become a slave driver then you become a slave and as such I wouldn't need to pay you for your work, isn't it?"

Suigetsu sweat dropped.

_This guy really knows how to corner a person._

"Sasuke, I know you are a reasonable guy." He lied. And he knew Sasuke knew he was by how his raised eyebrow was almost hitting his hairline. "And you can agree with me serving one to five cups of coffee is doable as a PA…..but above ten cups, Sasuke is a full time job."

Sasuke stared blankly at his PA for a long minute. He decided to amuse himself and see where this was going.

"So what do you suggest, Suigetsu?"

Suigetsu cleared his throat importantly.

"Well I think, you should get a secretary."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side.

"Don't I pay you already to that?"

Suigetsu deadpanned.

"No, you pay me to be your personal assistant. A secretary on the other hand would be more effective when it comes to serving you coffee."

It was Sasuke's turn to now deadpan.

"So I will pay for a secretary just to serve me coffee?"

Suigestu paused for a moment to think. And he had an idea.

"Well you can just pay for a coffee girl, to just serve you coffee."

Sasuke wasn't amused.

"Why does it have to be a girl and when was there a thing like a coffee girl?"

"Well seeing we are already two guys here, a third one would make a crowd and besides there is a need of feminine touch here." Suigestu supplied convincingly.

"Suigetsu, you know the reason I do not take women to work that closely with me is because I distract them and they can't work efficiently as I want them to." Sasuke said nonchalantly like he hadn't made the cockiest statement in the world.

The only reason Suigetsu didn't roll his eyes right in front of Sasuke was because he was surprised Sasuke could make such a comment with a straight face.

He swallowed the smart comeback at the tip of his tongue because he knew even though they were cool enough to say some things, there were things that he could that would get him fired.

And Suigestu knew what was at the tip of his tongue was one of those things so he swallowed it, and turn his tongue over for more appropriate words.

"Well it could be a guy if you want to, but think about it, you would be the first to have one and one plus side to it would be that you finally have something to make you cooler than Itachi."

Suigetsu realised a second way too late his last words came out wrong than intended and seemed to be one of the things he early thought he had pushed down his throat that could cost him his job, but stubbornly didn't go down his throat. If he wasn't sure enough, the glare Sasuke was giving was than enough.

"Finally, huh? " Sasuke tried his best to mask the growl in his voice as the pent up anger from the morning he was trying to push aside was clawing back up.

Suigestu was sweating bullets now.

"I mean you would be like your dad with a right hand man and a secretary which is way cooler than Itachi having just a PA." Suigestu let out nervously trying to pacify Sasuke to reduce the murderous aura oozing out of him.

But as the anger started rising, it made him remember the source of it all.

Hyuga Hinata.

And he had an idea.

"I think I would take your suggestion about the coffee girl thing." Sasuke suddenly said, surprising Suigetsu who was expecting a head chewing, and a burning at stake of his headless corpse.

"A coffee girl, as in its going to be a girl?" Suigetsu couldn't hold his excitement.

Sasuke nodded.

"And I have the perfect person for the job." Sasuke said with a wicked smirk before bringing his coffee to his lips for a sip.

_Having no one other than the Hyuga heiress serve me my numerous cups of coffee with just a snap of my fingers was going to be fun. I would love to see her take back her company whiles she is serving me coffee non-stop. And that was just the tip of the iceberg of the "fun" we are going to have together. The hyuga heiress as my coffee girl. Itachi would tear his heart out and eat it out of jealously._

His smirk grew wider behind his cup of coffee.

He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

…..

* * *

Hinata sneezed. Ko turned to give her a curious look.

And then she sneezed.

And then she sneezed again.

Ko couldn't help the amused smile on his face. Hinata caught it in the rear view mirror as she wiped her nose with her handkerchief. She gave him a look to tell him she wanted in on the joke.

"You know they say when one sneezes out of nowhere it means someone is talking or thinking about them."

"It could be the pollen from the flowers." Hinata said referring to the flowers with her at the backseat she bought for her dad.

"Well it was three times and it is suspicious. Suspicious as those Uchihas."Ko couldn't suppress the instinctual growl in his voice at the mention of Uchiha.

"They might be discussing my contract." Hinata supplied deciding to go along with suspicions to humour herself.

There was no humour on Ko's face now.

"Of course they are. They are discussing how to crush you completely with that contract." Ko declared grimly clutching the steering wheel tighter, like he was there to actually see them doing that.

Hinata gave an exasperated sigh.

"Ko I thought we already discussed this and you agreed to accept my decision of not running away from my problems anymore."

"Yes Hinata sama, I did and I am proud of you for that. But, that doesn't change the fact that you made a deal with the devil's trinity in the form of those Uchihas and, the reality of this decision you have made being that they are going to use it to completely destroy you so you wouldn't be able to stand on your two feet again. It is my job, Hinata sama to help you prevent that from happening to you so you achieve your goal." Ko spoke out passionately, which made feel Hinata feel bad that she had put him in a situation where he had to worry about her again.

And she knew worry was an understatement in the face of Ko's over protectiveness.

Hinata took all Ko's words in and knew he was right. She could even feel it in the room when they presented her with the contract. She could feel every fibre of their being thirst for her blood.

She knew what she had gotten herself into when she signed those papers.

She knew her family, especially the elders would go crazy if they heard about this, but after they abandoned her and tried to steal Hanabi from her, she could care less about them.

She knew the Uchihas would definitely use this contract to try and destroy her father's legacy completely through her.

But it was a risk she had to take.

To restore her father's name and legacy.

And also, to find out what really happened to Itachi to change so much towards her.

And that was why she was going to her father's grave, to tell him everything herself eventhough he might turn in his grave as Ko said earlier.

But she needed this.

She need to tell him of this big decision she had made, to take off the burden of fear that was crippling her slowly from inside, at what was ahead of her.

The car pulled over to the Hyuga burial grounds and Ko killed the engine. Hinata took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

Ko got down open to the door for Hinata and she stepped out of the car with the flowers in her arms. Ko escorted her halfway and made her take the rest of the journey to her father's grave alone to give her the privacy she needed.

She was finally before her father's grave for the first time since the funeral. Seeing her father's name engraved in a gravestone and the fact that he was buried 6 feet under it, made tears brim Hinata eyes.

She couldn't believe she was going to break the resolve she had made this morning not to cry again. But that was when she was in her room, and not in front of her father's grave like this. The pain was too fresh and still too deep to get over this soon. She was only human with blood running through her veins and a perfectly working and beating heart. And she was a daughter who had lost her father, her rock and protector.

The tears escaped her eyes as she knelt down before her father's grave and put the flowers on his gravestone. This time she wasn't bawling uncontrollably like before.

She had made some progress.

She turned her face to the side to wipe the tears and turned back to smile at her father's name on the gravestone. She didn't want to address when she was crying. She knew he hated seeing her show weakness in front of him.

"Hello daddy…it has been a while, hasn't it?" she greeted injecting light into her voice that never reached her wet eyes.

She allowed the expected silence to ring in the air, to make it seem like she was having an actual conversation with him, which would have been the same except with some small nods and grunts here and there.

"Hanabi is fine and is in school that is why she couldn't be here….She really misses you." Her mind took her back to the funeral at Hanabi emotional outburst at the realization of their father's death finally hitting her.

And this time she let the silence stretch a little longer so as to take in air to calm herself.

"Daddy….since you've been gone, everything has just fallen apart, the family, the business, everything seems to have left with you." She almost choked on her last words but held on to continue.

"The Uchihas didn't waste time to take everything away from us as soon as you left, but the people we call family left us as soon as the money left." She couldn't hold back the bitterness in her voice when she mentioned the family abandoning them.

The next words she was about to say seemed stuck in her throat but she had to let it out.

"The Uchihas claim….they claim you signed everything away to them with the excuse that you owed them a lot of money you couldn't pay with the time they gave you… but above everything I know you are not a man to create a situation that would harm the people you love or drag them down to ground by his own hands. I know you are not a man who would let your sweat and blood to making the Hyuga Empire this great and powerful go to waste like this. I know you aren't a man to let down your clansmen like this. So something must have happened, something drastic must have happened to you in that room during that meeting to make your signature somehow appear on that paper that gives everything you have worked for to the Uchihas."

Her eyes blazed with determination at her next words.

"And that's what I'm going to find out. And to do that I would have to do something I know you are not going to like…. I am going to work for them."

She paused to allow her big announcement sink in the silence, before she continued.

"I know you would say it is stupid and a ridiculous thing to do, but you also taught me great things never happen to those who do not take risks in life. I know it looks like I am walking straight into den of a lion that seems to have a very healthy appetite for only my flesh, but this is the only way to unravel this mystery to restore your name…..and also find out if they had a hand in your death."

Hinata leaned forward to place both of her palms on his gravestone and stare directly at her father's name engraved on the stone.

"I swear before you, on your grave, on this day that, I will take back everything the Uchihas took from you and restore your name, and I am not promising you as a Hyuga, I am making this promise to you as your daughter."

There was no crack, stutter, hesitance or shakiness in her voice. Her voice was clear as a bell and firm with determination.

Those were words she had sworn over her father's grave, were ones she couldn't take back, and ones she was going to fulfil at any cost.

…

* * *

.

The alarm rang loud in the room but Sasuke was already in the bathroom almost done bathing which was very unnatural for someone like him. On a normal day, he would be dead and gone, deep in his sleep where the sound of his alarm could not reach him. Sometimes this was the time he came back from a wild night out and was going now going to sleep it off for some hours before work, with no care in the world that he would be late.

But today was different.

Today was a day any Uchiha would kill to be in his shoes.

Having a prideful Hyuga bow to you as their master.

He couldn't help the grin that stretched his lips wide at the thought, as he turned off the shower.

Because of this he hadn't gone out to clubbing like usual or have an all-night rendezvous with a hot lady.

No, he was at home, being sober and plotting the many ways he was going break the Hyuga heiress slowly and painfully with his own hands.

He couldn't say he slept well during the night because his excited and overworking twisted mind of his kept him awake most of the time. But that didn't take away the full burst energy of destruction bursting through him.

He had decided to even forgo his ritual cup of coffee before he left for work so as not to spoil his appetite for his new Hyuga coffee maker.

He was in such a good mood that anyone would be beyond shocked because it was a well-known fact Sasuke was not a morning person and when he was up this early, even a whole bottle of happy pills could do nothing to quell his grumpiness and crabbiness the whole the day.

"Today is going to be a terrific day." Sasuke chimed uncharatersitically to himself as he walked out of the shower, with his devious grin still in place.

….

* * *

Hinata stood in front of the mirror staring at herself. She had dressed to the T like a professional and an heiress. She had her hair in a strict bun with just enough make up on her face to look presentable. She wore a black sharp suit top and a white fitting skirt that ended right above her knee putting her beautiful long and curvy legs on full display with the help of a pair of black high heeled open toe shoes.

Before her, was a woman that looked like she could take on anything the world threw at her, even be it the Uchihas, eventhough the knots in her stomach told her otherwise.

She took in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She had a promise she had to fulfil, one she had to fulfil at all cost and without any room for failure or hesitance.

With one final look she grabbed her purse from her bed and stepped out of her room to face the world.

….

* * *

Suigestu rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him at what he was seeing.

"Sasuke…..is that you?"

He didn't believe this day would ever come to pass; Sasuke Uchiha coming early to work and even earlier than him.

Sasuke just lend back in his seat giving Suigestu a condescending look.

"In the flesh, and you are late." How Sasuke had longed to say that to his smart mouthed personal assistant. He was loving how Suigestu looked like he was going to choke from shock from Sasuke of all people telling him he is late.

It turned out that it was actually laughter he was trying to hold as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"I am actually 15 minutes early to work. It's clear you do not know the official time works starts here eventhough you came so uncharacteristically early. I understand, it's your first time." Suigestu couldn't help but tease earning him a dart to the eye by Sasuke's glare.

Sasuke smiled sadistically at him.

"But if I your boss was able to come early to work, shouldn't you as my employee come earlier to put things in place before I arrive?" Sasuke shot back threateningly.

Suigestu gulped loudly from fear and Sasuke enjoyed it.

"S-Should I get you your coffee now?" Suigestu tried to pacify Sasuke in case he had any diabolic plans of firing him.

"No, not now, I do not want to spoil my appetite." Sasuke declined the offer.

Suigestu raised an eye brow.

"Appetite?"

Sasuke smirked at Suigestu's confusion.

"You would soon find out."

…

* * *

"Welcome, Fugaku sama." Koga greeted his boss as he opened the door for him to step out from his car.

"Tha-" before Fugaku could reply, his eyes hit something he couldn't believe he was seeing.

"Is that Sasuke's car?" Fugaku blurted out the question before he could stop himself.

Koga turned to trace Fugaku's surprised gaze on Sasuke's car.

"Yes Fugaku sama." Koga confirmed which seemed to make Fugaku even more confused.

"Did he spend the night here?"

Koga expertly held down the laughter burning in his chest.

"No sir, he left for home yesterday and came back early this morning."

It became painfully difficult for Koga to hold down the laughter tickling up his throat at Fugaku's eyes almost popping out in shock at what he had just informed him of.

"Sasuke came to work…..early?" Fuguku asked like the impossible had happened.

"Yes sir." Koga patiently confirmed again.

Fugaku was genuinely surprised and taken aback.

He didn't know Sasuke was this serious about having the Hyuga heiress work under him so he could do well to his promise of terrorizing her.

His determination to destroy her made Fugaku almost feel sorry for the Hyuga.

Almost.

Fugaku schooled his face back to his normal neutral look.

"I see."

"And sir, Miss Hyuga is waiting for you." Koga informed Fugaku.

"Oh, this early? Its not even 8 yet." Fugaku said in mild surprise.

"Yes sir. She just came a few minutes before you came." Koga answered.

"Ah." Fugaku said nodding thoughtfully.

_Pitiful girl, if only you knew what you were coming so early to._

…..

* * *

Hinata sat there at the waiting area in front of Fugaku's office, with her back straight and stiff as a poker. She outwardly looked stoic and untouchable but inside she was regretting declining Ko's offer of coming in with her.

She could really use the assurance of her safety of his presence right now.

But she knew she had done the right thing and had to stick with it. She couldn't let the Uchihas think she still needed a bodyguard around her wherever she went, which they could use against her.

She had to present an independent and strong woman before them that they cannot trifle with so easily.

The elevators then opened to reveal Fugaku and Koga stepping out of it. She stood up to greet Fugaku.

"Good morning, Uchiha san."

Fugaku stopped in front of her with a mild curious look on his neutral face as if expecting something.

"I don't see your babysitter around." He asked more than stated and it didn't changed the fact that it irked her at what he called Ko and what it implied concerning her.

"I figured my right hand man's service would be put to good use elsewhere instead of by me whiles I worked." She said politely lacing it with a cool jab at him and Koga.

Fugaku's gaze turned stony.

"Why don't you join me in my office?" Fugaku commanded more than asked, emphasizing it by walking ahead to his office without waiting for her reply.

Seated in the office, Hinata, thought she was going to crumble from the intensity of sitting with the man before her, as they waited for Koga.

She now knew where Itachi got that from.

What made things worse was that eventhough she avoided his gaze, she could feel those intense hawk like gaze of his on her, rendering her almost immobile. She didn't know what came over her, but she all of a sudden looked up to meet his gaze.

But something happened that surprised her.

When their eyes met, she could have sworn she saw his eyes widen a fraction and then after a beat of a second or two, he, the great Fugaku Uchiha looked away.

She didn't know what to make of it but before she could ponder over it, Koga knocked and walked in with a file in hand.

"Fugaku sama, I have called Suigestu san as you asked." Koga reported and Fugaku nodded.

Koga handed the file to Fugaku and he opened it to run his eyes through and he closed. He lifted his eyes to Hinata as he handed the file to her.

"This contains the terms of our agreement and all that's required of you as an employee here." Fugaku said as Hinata mimic his actions of scanning through the contents briefly before there was a knock on the door.

After being called to come in, a young man with white shoulder length hair and purple eyes walked in and greeted.

"Good morning Fugaku sama, Koga san and Miss."

"Good morning Suigestu, she is Miss Hyuga and she would be working with us under your boss, and I want you to take her to meet him so she can start work with immediate effect."

After Fugaku's words, a realisation hit Suigestu making him smile mischievously to himself.

_I have found out your little secret, Sasuke._

"As you wish, Fugaku sama." Suigestu replied.

He then turned his attention to Hinata with a friendly smile on his face.

"Shall we, Miss Hyuga?"

"Yes please." She answered getting up on her feet.

"Oh Hyuga Hinata." Hinata froze in place at the sound of Fugaku's voice.

She turned to see him look at her with a glint of deviousness in his eyes.

"Good luck…..You would need it."

His words let a chill run down her spine at the look in his eyes which promised she would need more than that for what they had prepared for her.

But she wasn't going to let him see that.

"Thank you Uchiha san, and have a good day." And with that she turned on her heels to leave.

Suigestu smirked to himself at this and followed her out.

"I am going to have a wonderful day at the sight of you completely destroyed, Hyuga Hinata." Fugaku said darkly as his stony gaze remained fixated at where she previously stood.

…

* * *

"I am Hozuki Suigestu at your service." Suigestu introduced himself to Hinata, extending a hand for a hand shake.

Hinata eventhough wary of his friendliness, took his hand to shake it gently.

"I am Hinata Hyuga." She replied politely but still detached.

Suigestu didn't seem to notice as he pressed on to continue the conversation, as he seemed excited to meet her.

"So how long are you going to be with us?" he asked conversationally.

"6 months." Hinata provided simply, still not putting effort into continuing the conversation. She didn't want him asking why she was working with them in the first place.

But she noticed his smile faltered at what she mentioned.

"6 months huh?" he said thoughtfully as he mulled over her words.

It now all made sense to him. Sasuke's uncharacteristic and shocking punctuality to work without his protocol grumpiness from just being awake. He seemed so full of energy and excited about something. And now he knew what that something was and he couldn't help but pity the Hyuga heiress.

And then he gave an exasperated sigh, all his excitement dissipating.

"Seems too short but still long enough for me to feel sorry for you."

Hinata was taken aback by his sudden words.

"Could you explain yourself please, Hozuki san?" Hinata inquired, now showing interest in the conversation.

"Unfortunately for you and I, we have the biggest jerk around here as our boss and that's saying something."

Hinata didn't like anything from what Suigestu had said.

Before she could ask further, the elevator doors opened and they stepped into a hallway where they were met with some workers who gave her weird looks as they passed by.

She could even hear some of them gossip about her as they walked by her.

But she had more important matters to think of, like knowing who this nightmare of a boss she was going to work under.

She quicken her steps to catch up to him.

"Who is this boss you are talking of?" She asked with a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."

Hinata felt like the whole of South Pole had been poured on her at the mention of his name.

Oh.

No.

Hinata was prepared for any nightmare of a boss, but not the horrors of horrors in the name of Sasuke Uchiha, the guy who hated her with such passion she could touch it.

His death glare full of hate and a promise to torture her when she falls into his trap, from yesterday flashed through her mind and almost crippled her with fear.

She now understood the good luck that Fugaku gave her.

She felt dizzy all of a sudden like she had been over the head by a bat.

He was going to torture her for jabbing his arm shut yesterday. He was going to make her pay painfully and slowly.

Hinata's whole body was arrested with fear and dread at her slaughter ahead of her.

She felt so heavy she didn't realise she had stopped walking.

"Yo Hinata, we are here."

Suigestu's voice calling out to her broke her from her reverie to see Suigestu a couple of steps ahead of her with a door opened waiting for her.

The door to Hades.

She forced her immobile legs to budge forward, and slowly and gingerly she reached the door step and entered, into a room leading to Sasuke's office, which served as Suigestu's office. The large door at the end was the door to Sasuke's office and there was another smaller one facing Suigestu's large desk.

Hinata's heart had gone overdrive, pounding persistently against her rib cage as she stared with dread at the door to Sasuke's office.

Just then Suigestu's phone rang in his pocket, prompting him to fish it out of his pocket.

He made a grunt of displeasure under his breath as soon as he checked the caller on his screen.

"Sorry, I need to take this." He excused himself before turning away to pick it.

Hinata was busily thinking of the many ways Sasuke was going to torture her, till she heard Suigestu suddenly scream into his phone.

"You are here?! What the hell are you doing here you crazy- aaargh! Stay there I'm coming down." He barked into the phone before he abruptly turned to Hinata with a look of apology and urgency on his face.

"Hinata, I'm sorry but I have to go downstairs to take care of a problem in the name of my crazy girlfriend. Please go ahead to Sasuke's office. He is expecting you." He didn't even give Hinata a chance to protest before he flew out of the door and vanished leaving Hinata alone and petrified to face the wolf waiting to devour her to the bone, all by herself.

She stood rooted where she stood as flashes of Sasuke's fury blazed eyes, concentrated with so much hatred just for her, haunted her as she stared fearfully at the huge doors that would lead to her doom.

At that moment the only thought that made sense was to bolt out the other way, abort mission and never turn back.

And it was one tempting thought that almost had her put one foot out the door of escape.

But then in that moment, she remembered Akamine san and the workers at the Hyuga towers, loyally standing by her with the hope she would regain control of management, she remembered, she remembered Hanabi who she had as her responsibility, she remembered her need to find out about what had happened Itachi and she remembered her vow to her father at his grave the day before, her vow to him as his daughter to by any means restore everything taken away from them.

And the only way she was going to achieve any of that, was to go through that door and survive, even if it meant meeting the devil face to face.

She had to do this.

So many people had their hopes in her for her to just give up so easily.

Hinata took a huge breath to try to calm down the turmoil in her to find her courage.

She clenched her fist at her sides as she begun to build up her courage and determination.

_You can do this, Hinata. You can do this._

She let out the breath she was holding and stared straight at the huge doors trying to intimidate her.

_I can do this._

And with that last pep talk, she took her first step towards her goal.

She continued with the next step and soon she was right in front of the dreadful doors.

Without letting a beat of a second pass for fear to have its way and change her mind, she knocked steadily on the door and after a second, she heard a deep familiar voice from behind the door.

"Come in."

….

* * *

The suspense eating Sasuke up had hit the roof after Suigestu gave him the news that Hyuga Hinata had arrived and he was to bring her here to meet Sasuke.

For some reason he couldn't seem to sit still after Suigestu had gone to meet her.

His thoughts had gone haywire with how to start the crucifixion of the Hyuga heiress and he found himself up from his seat pacing in his office.

He caught himself in time to realise how ridiculous he must look and sat back in his seat.

_It must be because I haven't had my morning cup coffee yet. _Sasuke convinced himself.

He settled for sitting patiently staring at his door and waiting.

But as popularly known, waiting wasn't one of Sasuke's strong traits because of infamous impatience.

He had counted to ten…in his head and there was no sign of Suigestu or Hinata.

_Had she chickened out already?_

Sasuke thought which made his eyes narrow dangerously at the thought of missing his chance of making her pay for what she did to his arm yesterday…..and all round being a Hyuga.

If that was the case, he would still go after her and make her life miserable till she comes back crawling on her knees begging for her job.

Just then, like a miracle, he heard a knock that brought him back to staring at his door anxiously.

And then something kicked him in the chest.

_She was in. _Even the voice in his head sounded excited.

Before he could stop himself, his mouth moved on its own accord to speak.

"Come in."

And before the door could open, he positioned himself well in his seat and took some files to pretend to be looking through to seem busy so as to not give away the fact he was waiting for her arrival. Eagerly.

There was a click of the door as it was slowly opened.

Hinata slide herself pass the door opened to step into Sasuke's office hesitantly.

As soon as she was in, like iron attracted magnet, her eyes immediately fell on the raven head behind the desk, who seemed so busy and engrossed in the files he was going through that he hadn't noticed her presence.

Sasuke was painfully aware of her presence like a sour thumb.

The first thing she noticed was the uncanny resemblance he shared with Itachi and at the same time the differences between them, even from how he sat.

The way Itachi sat, even if in a laid back way, was done with unconscious poise and grace.

But the man before her sat with a different air about him.

This man, Sasuke Uchiha even without being conscious of it, had this air of arrogance and dominance about him as he sat.

And it rubbed Hinata wrong.

She just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

She closed the door loud enough to announce her presence.

Sasuke, still in the in character of being too busy to be aware of Hinata's presence in an attempt to mask his gnawing impatience when waiting for her a few minutes ago, raised his head to finally bring his attention to Hinata in response to the sound of the door being closed.

"Oh, it's just you." He said feigning boredom and disappointment at the sight of her.

Hinata actually saw his seemingly deflated mood as a good sign that he wouldn't be energetic enough to put maximum effort when torturing her.

She just regarded him with coolness to seem unaffected however.

"Good morning…sir." She greeted, having to force the "sir" out of her throat at the very end.

Sasuke caught on it, and it made the side of his lips curl up into a smirk.

He let himself fall back into his chair, as he let his eyes drag up and down her form lazily, to make her highly uncomfortable.

He soon realised he was letting him himself get carried away by the many provocative curves of her body which her fitting attire did little to hide.

And it took him back to when he first met her yesterday. If Sasuke were to be honest, he met her derriere first. Her fine, generous and friendly derriere.

How he knows it is friendly, it said hi to him first.

He could say they were going to get along pretty well, with all the flirting going on from both sides…until its dreadful owner turned and burst their perfect little bubble.

_Wet blanket._He sniped at her in his head.

But then he got to meet her equally generous and friendly chest which was at moment winking at him whiles seemingly trying to burst out of its tight confinement.

_Tease_. He accused her in his head.

But even if it was killing her inside at how his eyes were on her, especially her chest, Hinata didn't show it, as he continued to stare back intently at her.

"It's a pity I can't wish you a good morning because life decided to be cruel to you to make you fall right into my hands." Eventhough his voice sounded neutral and calm, the wickedness in his eyes told her a torrid tale of how he was going to make her time with him, a living hell for her.

But she didn't flinch or bat an eye like Sasuke expected her to.

She just stared back coolly at him.

And her indifference about the terror he was going to descend on her begun to not sit well with Sasuke.

He stood up from his chair, and begun stalking menacingly towards Hinata. The only thing he got in response was her stare getting icy as he got closer.

At least it was somewhat a response and Sasuke used it as motivation.

When he was close enough, he stalked around her in his slow and menacing pace, like wolf sizing up its prey, looking for an opening to attack.

"A little Hyuga princess wandering all alone into the lair of the Uchihas, without her dog following her…." Hinata had to bite her tongue not talk back at what Sasuke called Ko, and just fixed him with a cold glare as he stopped in front of her.

"…it almost makes me want to protect you." That statement really took Hinata aback, her eyes opening a fraction in surprise and confusion.

And that was the opening Sasuke was looking for which he wasn't going to waste it.

He stepped closer, into her personal space, so close his breath fanned her face. The suddenness and boldness of the intrusion alarmed Hinata making her lose her composure in that moment, which only reinforced Sasuke.

His eyes turned deadly as they pierced through her wide ones, his aura as dark as his pitch black hair.

"To protect you from all other possible dangers, so you would be safe for just me, to be fit to go through the slow painful nightmare I promise to make you suffer through my hands." His voice, every word from his mouth, was doused in impenetrable hatred, and it shook Hinata to her very core.

Never had she seen hatred so scalding, so vivid and so deep, especially towards her.

It was so suffocating she couldn't breathe.

And Sasuke was enjoying this sight of her.

It made him hunger even more to see her totally broken by his hands.

But there was no rush, he was going to take his time and enjoy every minute of it.

Slow and painful.

When he was about to step back to his seat, his eyes lowered and fell on her lips just as she parted them to take in a breath.

And then he was transfixed where he stood, forgetting about stepping back all together.

His legs became immobile where he stood, with his eyes unmoving from her parted plump lips staring right back at him.

At least that's what he thought, but for some reason her lips got closer and closer.

And then the sound of Hinata's sharp breath intake broke him out of his reverie to see the horrified look on her face and that's when he realised he had been moving towards her….. the whole time.

He wanted to see her face contorted with pain and fear at him breaking, to see this horrified look on her face when she hears his name.

So why did he not like it that she had that same look of horror he wanted on her face, at him being this close to him?

Why did his mood plummet and darken at this?

And it reflected on his face as it hardened and the heat of his glare suddenly increased.

"Coffee. Now." He ordered curtly and then turned away in an instant to go back to his seat, not given time for Hinata to assimilate what he had just said or what had just happened before that.

She took in the breath that Sasuke interrupted earlier and quickly turned to leave the room as if she was being chased.

When she got outside, she clutched her chest to calm down her beating heart, taking in more breaths as she tried to understand what just happened in there.

She saw how his heated gaze were on her lips and how he drew closer to them…..like….like he was going to…to kiss her.

Everything within Hinata cringed at the thought and shut her eyes tight to erase the thought completely from her head.

_No it is absurd. Why would he want to kiss me when he hates my very existence?_

Then she opened her eyes only to them narrowed.

_He was messing with me._

_He had already started the torture session._

_He was targeting my feelings._

_He was playing with me to get to my feelings so he can throw me away when he was done messing me up._

_He wanted to start breaking me from the inside._

Hinata felt heat rise in her chest and spread all over her body.

She was pissed.

_How dare he..?_

_Who did he think he was to play with a person's feelings?_

Her aura became icy.

She wasn't going to let him. She was never going let him get close enough to mess her up on the inside.

Even if he tried his best with that tactic, his main obstacle and cause of his failure would ironically be his own brother, Itachi.

But now even without Itachi, she wasn't going to make someone like Sasuke able to touch her heart just to trample all over it in his twisted game of revenge.

It was even impossible with the deep disdain she felt for him.

Every fibre in her being was repulsed with the idea of him trying to have his way with her.

It made her sick to her stomach.

After she got over her wave of disgust, she made her way to the kitchen to make Sasuke's coffee.

When she grabbed a mug to start, a thought suddenly made her stop in her tracks.

She didn't know how he liked his coffee.

_Should I go and ask him?_

She decided against knowing she might regret doing so. And she wanted to limit seeing him to only when it was necessary.

She thought of how Itachi liked his coffee sweet, and it made sense to her that with him being his younger brother, he might also share the same preference.

She proceeded to prepare his coffee but just made it in a mug to test her theory.

Itachi liked cream in his coffee, so she added some to Sasuke's.

Satisfied with her handiwork, she picked it up and headed back to Sasuke's office.

…

* * *

_What just happened?_

Sasuke asked in his thoughts trying to understand how he lost himself for that moment because he was affixed with her lips.

He didn't understand why he would be affixed with her lips in the first place.

When he thought of how close he had gotten to her face, he couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she hadn't made a sound.

_Was I going to kiss her?_

He bristled at the thought.

It was ridiculous.

It was absurd that an Uchiha like him would want to kiss a Hyuga, more so Hinata who he hated with a passion.

_She was just a witch playing mind games on him._

Sasuke concluded, as the only sane reason for any of this to happen.

Or it was the only excuse that would allow him live with himself.

And then the look of her face crossed his mind. That look of horror on her face, like she was so disgusted beyond words at him daring to get that physically close to her.

Like he was some filthy thing that would taint her holiness.

And it pissed him off beyond measure.

He had outstandingly beautiful women fall at his feet every single day and she had the audacity to feel disgusted at his proximity.

Even Yoshino who evaded his advances never looked at him with disgust.

He let out a dark chuckle.

She really knew how to make him despise her.

There was a knock and then the object of his thoughts came with his cup of coffee in hand.

And the sight of her, a Hyuga heiress serving his coffee to him was a priceless sight that needed to be frozen in time and immortalized for future Uchihas to see and be awed beyond words at this achievement of his.

Luckily Sasuke had a phone with a good camera.

His hands with a mind of its own, fished out his phone and took a picture of her, which made Hinata suddenly halt, with a look of a deer in headlights.

Her surprise then turned to cold fury, as she shot icicles at Sasuke's taunting smirk at her.

"I must say the camera loves you, Hyuga." Sasuke teased cheekily as he looked at the picture he took of her, his smirk widening.

Hinata had to use strength beyond human capacity to hold herself from bursting in flames from her anger.

_How dare he…._

She glared at him as she begun to walk forward to give him his coffee.

He didn't even look up at here even when she placed his coffee before him.

He was too engrossed with the picture he had taken of her.

It angered her the more.

_I wish I had made the coffee hot in enough to burn that tongue of his._

Sasuke picked his cup of coffee with his eyes still on his phone and brought it to his lips to finally take a long sip of coffee he had been waiting all morning for.

He actually chugged it because he was that starved of caffeine.

And then he froze, with his mouth full of the sweet creamy coffee Hinata Hyuga had served him.

He shot his wide eyes to her face which confused her, as his face contorted to that of disgust like he was going to spit it all in her face.

But it looked like he decided she stood too far for his sweet creamy coffee spit to reach her face like he would have loved, and resulted to spit it back into the mug.

Hinata balked in disgust at this.

Sasuke kept on coughing and making retching sounds like he wanted to vomit his guts out.

He even took out his handkerchief to scrub off the taste of the coffee, like it was corroding his tongue.

Hinata could just stand there totally bewildered at what was happening right in front of her.

And when he had gotten enough of the coffee out of his system to start normal body functioning, he straightened up to lift his glowering coals to burn through Hinata's eyes.

They promised her hell.

"What the fuck….What the fuck did you give me to drink?" Sasuke growled in a low and dangerous note trying to contain his anger without success.

He looked like a raging bull ready to attack.

It made Hinata bones shake with fear.

Hinata needed a moment to breathe and find her voice before she could answer.

"C-Coffee?" And then her stutter was back from past.

Her answer seemed to aggravate his anger.

"Then why the hell was not only sugar, but fucking cream in my coffee?!" The anger in his voice knocked her knees together and Hinata could just stand there petrified.

"I…I…I thought y-you would l-like your c-coffee that way." Hinata answered sheepishly turning into a stuttering mess.

It fuelled his anger fire.

Sasuke tried to hold his anger back a little to be able to not shout his next words, because he didn't want her to faint yet till he was done with her.

"And what gave you the brilliant idea that I would like my coffee that way, Hyuga?" he snarled sarcastically.

_Itachi._

But there was no way she could say that out loud.

And then she thought to herself.

_How was I supposed to know he abhorred cream or sugar in his coffee?_

_He just sent me to go get him coffee without telling me how he preferred his coffee, leaving me to my own devices._

_So why is he barking at me like I am the only one to blame here?_

"Why aren't you answering, huh Hyuga? Are you deaf?" Sasuke barked at her almost making her jump.

And before she could stop herself, she said her thoughts out loud.

"You could have told me….you could have just told me how you liked your coffee."

Her words must have hit him weird as he just stood there, like her words just caused a temporary brain malfunction in his head.

"What?!" He blurted out after a long minute.

Hinata swallowed down any hesitance or fear as she had already begun she might as well finish.

"You could have simply told me how you preferred your coffee since this is my first serving you coffee instead of sending me off without a clue."

Her words seemed to have cause the temporary brain malfunction to last longer than intended, as his eyes begun to twitch uncontrollably.

And out of nowhere Sasuke started to laugh out loud and all that Hinata could register in her stunned state at the surprising sight was how his laughter sounded like it hurt.

His laughter then died down a bit for him to speak.

"So you are blaming me for your stupidity?" and then he went back to laughing into Hinata's face.

She bristled at what he had indirectly called her and she was beginning to feel mocked by his laughter eventhough it sounded painful.

And then when he stopped laughing completely, his face turned to stone and his eyes were full of spite, making her feel like trash.

"You really are one incredible idiot, aren't you?" Hinata felt like his words just slapped her hard in her face.

She couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe he just called her that. She couldn't believe he just said that out loud.

It must have been on her face, as Sasuke being so gracious decided to repeat himself in an even more biting way.

"You heard right, I said you are a big dumbass, Hyuga."

Hinata actually gasped at this, shocked at this amount of rudeness and spite coming from just one person.

And he wasn't done.

"Even for a Hyuga I must say you are damn stupid." Another painful slap to her face, but he didn't care and continued his verbal assault.

"Knowing you were going to work here, especially being the enemy territory, you should have prepared for anything thrown at you, even the impossible. That being said the smartest thing for you to do before you stepped foot here was to get your intelligence on us, get to know useful and even basic information about us, down to how even we like our coffee made. You couldn't think this far and you dare dream of taking your father's company from us?"

And then he chuckled darkly under his breath.

"Your stupidity is beyond compare."

Hinata just stood there rigidly, taking all the acid and venom from his mouth being spat in her face, quietly.

She did so by holding her breath, to somewhat reduce the impact of his insults.

Sasuke's eyes fell on the cup of coffee and it seemed to reinvigorate the verbal monster.

"You are truly a useless stupid Hyuga brat. At least begin putting yourself to some good use by taking this piece of crap you call coffee out of my face."

And then Hinata let out her breathe.

And it seemed to let loose something she was pushing down.

"At least I am just stupid and do not have a lose tongue in addition." Hinata shot back almost immediately after she let out that breath.

And Sasuke was now the one completely stunned wacked in the face by a golf club.

"What?!"

"You being the all-knowing one should have known telling me to investigate you and your family for information that would help me achieve my goal is what we call digging your own grave and that of your family." Hinata snapped back again unable to hold her tongue any longer.

Sasuke continued to stare at her speechlessly as if not able to believe what was happening before him.

"Did you just call me stupid?" he blurted out in his state of shock.

And Hinata's tongue continued to indulge in its new rebellion.

"I am not responsible for how you see yourself in the mirror." She replied coolly.

Her words hit more than a nerve.

Hinata could have sworn she heard a part of Sasuke's brain explode at her words and the dark shadow that fell on his face testified to that.

"You are fired."

He declared darkly, like a death sentence, leaving Hinata stunned.

That's when she realised how far things had gone.

She got fired.

Just when she started.

She felt dread hit her like a wrecking ball when she remembered her promise she made to her father to get back the company.

That was not going to be possible now that she has been fired.

Failure was staring right into her face and mocking her.

_What was am I going to do?_

_How could it all end before it even started?_

"What now? You finally grew a brain and realised how screwed you are now?" Sasuke sneered bitterly at her, still vengeful at her words.

Hinata could stand there just mute at his mercy.

"Huh, cut got that fiery tongue of yours now?" Sasuke taunted seeing how Hinata was now cornered.

She didn't respond only with her eyes cast down.

"You want your job back?"

His words instantly lit her dead eyes with hope as she stared wide eyed at him.

But the sinister look in his eyes was stifling that little hope out, knowing what was coming next wasn't good.

"I can't hear you, do you want your job back?" he pressed taunting her with the mockery in his eyes at sensing her desperation at the moment.

Hinata's tongue was heavy with and embarrassment and reluctance to respond to his question, knowing it was his way of humiliating her. But she had no options.

"…..Yes." she answered throatly feeling something die in her at how pathetic she sounded.

"Yes what?" he pressed harshly.

Hinata clenched her fist swallowing the painful lump in her throat.

"Yes I want my job back." Hinata felt her face burn with humiliation and the small smirk on Sasuke's face showed he saw it, and he enjoyed every bit of it.

But that wasn't enough.

He wasn't satisfied.

He wanted more.

"Then get on your knees, and beg for it."

His words felt like someone had pulled hard on a rubber band and left it to smack right into her face and smack all the sense out of her, seizing the normal function of her brain in that moment.

She thought it was not possible for her to have heard right.

_No, he couldn't…._

And then she looked into his eyes, the twistedness, the malice and impatience told her, she definitely heard right, loud and clear.

The confirmation felt like a hard knock to her head.

And it made her snap.

"I won't." hinata's defiance echoed loud and clear in the room.

The silence after was deafening.

Sasuke's face darkened.

"You won't?" it sounded more like a threat than a question.

Hinata bravely held his fiery coals with her cold ones, as her repulsion she had for him grew by the second.

"I would never kneel before you. Never."

A shadow fell on Sasuke's face as his body trembled with blind anger.

He had seen enough.

From yesterday, undermining his authority infront of the board members and employees, to humiliating him by disarming him and now…..

She dared to stand before him and defied him.

He slammed his hand loudly and heavily on his desk, making Hinata jump at the impact.

The deadly look in his eyes frightened Hinata, eventhough she was struggled not to show it.

Sasuke was also struggling to hold his anger in before he combusted from it.

"You would kneel before me this instant, Hyuga!" Sasuke barked out as his last warning and it shook her entire being with fear.

Yes, she was petrified at what his anger was slowly morphing him into before her very eyes.

But she wasn't going to allow that to break her to kneel before someone like him.

Never.

"Y-you c-can…you can take everything away from me as a Hyuga, but…." Hinata calmed herself to speak her next words boldly and without any hesitance or fear. "I will never….let you take my dignity as a person." Hinata threw back defiantly and stared straight into Sasuke's eyes to let him feel the impact of her words.

And then he shocked her with that laughter of his again, this time raw with so much bitterness sourness, which, made Hinata wonder if he had ever laughed from happiness ever in his life.

And then he stared down at her condescendingly with his eyes full of spite.

"Wake up little girl, without the Hyuga name, you are nothing, nothing but pure trash that should know its place." Sasuke spat harshly at her.

And then she surprised him with her own laughter in a form of a chuckle, and it only brewed a hotter fierier brand of Sasuke's anger.

" At least trash like me was able to let even you admit the greatness of the Hyuga name." Hinata pointed out with a triumphant smirk on her face.

Sasuke's rage was now so overwhelming he was rendered speechless with his entire being trembling with ill contained scalding fury.

Then her eyes turned chilly when they locked on his with a serious look on her face.

"And one last thing. Do not disrespect Ko by calling him a dog ever again. He is more of a human being than you could ever be." Her deadly tone was something that Sasuke didn't know she had in her. It might have had its rightful effect if he senses wasn't completely overtaken with the burning rage inside.

And with that Hinata sauntered out of the room with her head held high leaving Sasuke consumed with a new level of hatred for her.

But his all-consuming anger didn't seem have the power to stop his eyes from automatically falling on her impressive ass and watch it in motion as she walked out till she disappeared, with her ass from his sight.

He hated himself for being weak at the sight of her hypnotic ass.

And it made the fire of his anger and hatred for her increase by ten folds.

Suigestu had just arrived and watched in confusion as Hinata just walked off without so much as a glance at him.

He turned to Sasuke with the confusion on his face increasing at seeing his lively and unnaturally chirpy boss from the morning, now shaking and breathing fire from earth crushing rage.

Suigestu blinked at him for a while before blurting out unceremoniously.

"What just happened?"

…

* * *

As she walked out of Sasuke's office, it seemed her anger seemed to amplify and burn red, as what had just ensued with Sasuke continued to play in her mind and fan the flames of her rage.

She couldn't believe her bad luck.

No, this wasn't bad luck, it was a tragedy from the beginning.

All along she thought she would be assigned to work under Itachi so she could be closer to him to figure out what was wrong with him.

Only to end up with the last person she wanted to see.

She never thought she could dislike another human being so much and with such intensity, till she met Sasuke.

He seemed to bring the worse out of her and make her act different from her normal self with every encounter they had.

From just the few encounters she had with him, she didn't like how she was always left with these intense negatives thoughts and feelings.

She could feel so much bitterness and hatred for him, so much it poisoned him.

And it made he himself like poison, turning everything around him negative.

If it weren't for him, she didn't believe she could dislike someone so much, she sometimes believed she hated him.

She didn't want such negativity around her.

She hoped she never had to have the displeasure of encountering him in her life again.

She made her way to the hallway and stopped in front of the elevators to wait for her ride, tapping her feet impatiently.

And when the elevator doors opened, she almost jumped in surprise at who it revealed.

"Itachi." She gasped out unconsciously, thinking she had only called his name in her head.

The look of mild surprise at seeing her in his eyes, quickly disappeared to his normal emotionless look he seemed to have especially for her of late.

She pushed down the feeling of dread and fear crawling up her throat.

"I-I mean….. Good morning Uchiha san." She said awkwardly remembering what he asked her to call him when she met him the day he broke things with her.

It seemed to please him as he allowed a small polite smile on his face that never reached his dead eyes.

"Good morning Hyuga san." He greeted politely but Hinata didn't like it. " are you joining me?" he asked in the same polite tone Hinata hated.

She wondered if he really wanted her to join him.

But the thought of being in such a small space with just him made her heart start to pound wildly and form a lump in her throat making it difficult for her to talk.

She just nodded and stiffly walked in to join him in the elevator.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Hinata seemed to have forgotten how to breathe all together.

She felt her lungs about to burst against her rib cage for more air but she didn't at the moment know how to replenish them.

Then something hit her.

She was being ridiculous.

Wasn't this the same man she had bared both her body and soul completely to and he to her?

Wasn't this the same man she could be herself completely with?

Wasn't he the same man who reached out for her heart when despite all odds against them because he loved her that much?

So why was she also going along with his recent strange behaviour and acting like a stranger around him?

She seemed to get her senses back to start her normal breathing functioning and her brain started working normally.

Her eyes reflexively swept over his form as she took in his appearance appreciatively.

From his long silky dark locks neatly tied in a perpetual low pony still leaving his long bangs to frame his handsome face perfectly, down to his broad shoulders which his suit seemed to lie perfectly to hi-

"Aren't you supposed to be at work, Hyuga san?" Itachi asked suddenly catching Hinata off guard.

She had to take time assimilating what he had asked and she turned to him since she had a lot going on her head with her eyes feast of him.

When she was done, she looked at him a hint of accusation in her eyes before she spoke.

"I accepted and came to do this job, thinking I would be possibly working under you…and not your impossible brother." Hinata couldn't help the edge in her voice as her anger from before resurfaced at remembering Sasuke.

Itachi's dead eyes turned cold as they bore unkindly into hers.

"Is that a compliant…..on your first day of work?" His voice had a threatening edge to it.

But the anger Sasuke singlehandedly ignited was one that couldn't be easily quenched with Itachi's coldness or intimidation.

"It is a fact." Hinata countered firmly, her eyes still demanding an explanation.

"I think it was clear enough from how arrangements were made that I didn't want to work with you." He said coldly.

Hinata ignored the sting of his words and decided to twist his words to her advantage.

"Is it because you wouldn't be able to separate your personal feelings for me from work?" Hinata asked confidently as she looked longingly and intently into his eyes for a sign of that to be true.

"No…I did not want to end up working with a pampered ignorant princess who didn't waste time to prove me right by quitting when the going went tough." Itachi delivered heartlessly as he coldly watched as he stabbed Hinata in the heart again with his words.

Every part of her face stung with tears as she tried to hold them as she stared at his face sadly with her tear brimmed eyes.

Then she surprised him, by smiling bravely at him through her tears.

"Is it that you are not happy to see me leave?...That's good to know." She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself of that than Itachi.

Itachi gave an exasperated sigh and irritation grew in his eyes.

"It must be really pitiful to have a daughter like you. You spend all your life working hard to make a future for her and make sure she never lacks a thing, but at the end in a dire situation to save everything you have worked for, she abandons it all to throw herself at your worst enemy's son. It is really a pitiful waste."

Hinata felt something die inside her at Itachi's acidic and cruel words.

She was at the verge of letting her tears fall freely down her face, but she somehow managed to summon the strength to hold her tears in and not cry before Itachi.

She didn't want to look any more pathetic than she was at the moment.

But she couldn't stop her face from conveying how his words killed her inside.

Her face felt heavy with the shame of being rejected, that she couldn't look him in the eye anymore.

The elevator doors then opened to Itachi's destination.

Before he left he turned to give her one last look.

"Have a good day, Hyuga san." And then he stepped, leaving his cold words echoing in the space of the elevator he had left her.

Hinata let out the breath she was holding as she blinked back the tears she was holding at bay.

"Have a good day?" hinata let out a bitter chuckle that felt like pins against her throat. "You really know what to say to rip a person heart apart and rub it in their face." She said in a pained hoarse voice as she pressed the button to go to the ground floor.

…

* * *

Sasuke clenched and unclenched his fist as he surrendered himself fully in his chair with his eyes shut, trying to quench down some of the fiery flames of his anger. But all he had done was prevent himself from turning his office upside down with his rage.

The degree of heat from his anger was still intact and overwhelmingly so, that he couldn't bring himself to work as his mind was haunted and taunted by Hinata's words and defiance.

There was a knock on his door but Sasuke couldn't be bothered to even open his eyes to see who it was.

He hoped his murderous aura would send the person away.

He heard the door open and footsteps towards his desk, one of the chairs opposite his, dragged and the intruder sitting.

_What a bold fellow._

Sasuke couldn't help but let that thought cross his mind as he wondered who would dare walk into his office and get himself a seat like he owned it especially when Sasuke's murderous aura could be felt miles away.

His curiosity took the better of him and he opened his eyes to see who it was.

And then he shut it almost immediately as his migraine tripled at the last person he wanted to see in this state.

"What do you want?" Sasuke snapped in an irritated tone without bothering to open his eyes.

"Hmm I don't think a good morning is suitable for the current mood."

Sasuke could feel the taunt in his brother's words and it gave the right provocation for Sasuke to open his eyes to fix Itachi's blank face with his death glare.

"I don't think seeing your face is suitable for the current mood either." Sasuke spat back, earning and amused chuckle from Itachi.

Itachi then turned his head around as if in search for something, and Sasuke didn't like it.

"What do you want?" Sasuke repeated himself, letting his words drip heavily with his impatience.

Itachi ignored him as he seemed engrossed in his search.

"I can't find any Hyuga here like I expected." Itachi finally said.

"That's because she is working." Sasuke stared right into his brother's face and lied without blinking.

Itachi couldn't stop his grin as he was shocked at how Sasuke was able to look him in the face and lie to him so boldly.

"Oh, then why would she bid me farewell in the elevator?" Itachi asked in feigned innocence. After his meeting with Hinata, he had taken the stairs straight to come here.

Sasuke closed his eyes as he let out a breath of irritation from his mouth trying to hold his boiling temper, which Itachi seemed to enjoy fanning.

"So you came all the way here just to rub it in my face." Sasuke accused through clenched teeth.

Itachi smiled at him.

"I wasn't till you lied to my face." Itachi pointed out simply.

It was now Sasuke to give a chuckle.

"Your lack of effort in lying to me is insulting."Sasuke sneered sarcastically.

Itachi's smile remained on his face as his eyes grew serious.

"What happened with Hyuga san?" Itachi probed.

Sasuke's eye begun to twitch in irritation.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." Sasuke bit back his reply.

Itachi's smile did not waver.

"Is it because she was too much for you to handle?"

Sasuke slammed his hand loudly on his desk and stood up from his seat.

Itachi had successfully broken any chains of restraint Sasuke had put on his roaring anger kind courtesy Hinata Hyuga.

His eyes blazed with his fiery anger as he glared down at his brother.

"Get out." It wasn't only an order, it was a life threatening one.

But Itachi was unfazed by Sasuke's fiery anger one bit.

"You still have not answered my question, Sasuke." Itachi pointed out calmly.

"Itachi, I said get out!" Sasuke voice got higher and deadly.

Itachi let himself fall back into his seat to regard Sasuke well.

"I get what happened now. She defied you so you fired her in your anger, isn't it?" itachi pressed.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Itachi." Sasuke growled with murderous intent at his brother.

Itachi was now not smiling anymore.

"You are always complaining about how dad doesn't give you a chance to prove yourself and when he does give you a chance, you prove him right by messing it up in grand style like only you are capable of."

And then Sasuke flipped over his huge office desk with his strength tripled by his monstrous anger, removing any barrier protecting Itachi, as he trudged dangerously towards a clearly unfazed Itachi.

Either Itachi had lost his reflex of fear or he had a death wish.

"What were you saying earlier?" Sasuke dared Itachi to repeat his previous words at the cost of his life.

Itachi didn't seem to get the dare part.

"That you couldn't handle a mere Hyuga." Itachi taunted.

Sasuke's hand shot out and grab Itachi by the collar.

"Let me handle your ass to show if I can't handle a Hyuga." Sasuke seethed through clenched teeth.

Itachi's eyes darkened at this.

He stood up from his seat to use his slight high advantage to stare down at Sasuke, who still held on steadfastly to Itachi's collar.

"Why? Is it because I spoke the truth too loud?" Itachi shot back looking meaningfully at Sasuke's hand grabbing him and to Sasuke's enraged face.

"That I can handle your ass?" Sasuke sneered.

"That Hyuga san is too much for you to handle." Itachi countered coolly turning Sasuke's face to stone.

The tension in the room became heavy and thick as the two thunderclouds had a glaring fest at each other, shooting all types of weapons at each other with their eyes.

Then a dark twisted smirk appeared on Sasuke's face.

"Fine, I would employ her back and then we would see if she is too much for me." Sasuke challenged.

Itachi stared at Sasuke for a long second before an amused smile appeared on his face.

"Deal." Itachi accepted the challenge. Sasuke's smirk grew wider and menacing.

"Deal." Sasuke also repeated.

"Now can you unhand me now?" Itachi asked dragging his eyes from Sasuke's face to his hand holding his shirt.

Sasuke let go with his raised in mocked surrender.

"Thank you." Itachi said as he straightened the front of his shirt.

"And now can you leave my office now?" Sasuke mimicked Itachi.

Itachi also mimicked Sasuke by also doing the mocked surrender stance.

"Ha… funny." Sasuke sneered sarcastically.

Itachi turned to leave but stopped when he got to the door, as if he had forgotten something.

"I'm really looking forward to this. Try not to disappoint me too early." And with that Itachi left, his words effectively riling Sasuke up.

"Try not to disappoint you too early, I'm going enjoy kicking you off your high horse, you arrogant bastard." Sasuke vowed, his eyes glowing red in determination and vengeance for all the times Itachi made him feel like second best in everything, especially in the eyes of their father.

That was going to change with Hyuga Hinata.

…..

* * *

Hinata was slowly but steadily losing faith with every encounter she had with Itachi.

He seemed to always have a way to kill what they had little by little with his words, actions and inactions.

But she refused to let go.

She refused just forget all they had even if it brought her more pain.

She stopped walking as she looked up their lake house, their love nest and the witness to their great love Itachi tries to deny ever existed now.

She knew if the whole world called her crazy and absurd because of their love, even if Itachi walked all over heart and love like it never existed and like it was all an illusion in her head, she knew this place would testify to their love, so igniting it made the sun seem cold, so deep it made the oceans jealous, so magnetic it caused the earth to move.

Hinata felt the heaviness in her heart slowly dissipate as she walked towards the lake house. She was greeted by its beauty and the wonderful memories she shared with Itachi as if it knew the pain in her heart and was trying to comfort her.

She readily allowed herself to bask in it, as she needed it for she felt like she was about to burst from all the sadness, anger and hurt from all that happened this morning at the Uchihas.

She walked further and got to the door of the lake house where she stopped as she was hit by the memory of their last time together when he made her his for the last time.

It was like she was taken back to that moment, feeling the intensity of his eyes as he gazed intently into hers, full of unspoken passion and desire.

The way he held her to him was full of possession and longing.

Hinata opened and entered the lake house, leaning on the door to close at being overwhelmed by the vivid flashes of the memory of that faithful day.

She closed her eyes to savour it.

How he carried her in so lovingly like his bride as he looked deep into her eyes with earth shattering passion and love, how he kissed her with such longing with all he had in him, like he was never going to get the opportunity to do so again, the way he held her to him so tightly like he was afraid he was going lose her if he didn't hold on to her tight enough and how he trembled in her arms, that tremble she was familiar with, because of the number of times he made her always tremble in his arms when she was overwhelmed with love anytime he kisses her.

He loved her that much it shook him to the very core.

So how could all that change so quickly like it never existed, how could he change so drastically like he wasn't capable of loving her in the first place?

No matter how many times she tried to wrap her mind around it, it just didn't make sense to Hinata.

_What could have changed him so much?_

_Or was this who he truly was? Was deceiving me all along like he claims?_

But then their memories together made it not plausible for him to have deceived her all this while.

She did not only see his love for her or hear him say it, she felt it and felt it so well in her bones.

And her bones never lied.

Something was wrong with him causing him to act like this.

And she had to find out.

But how was she going to accomplish that when she conveniently got herself fired on the first day?

Hinata now wanted to kick herself for not having restraint on her tongue back in Sasuke's office.

Under normal circumstances, even if she was right in any situation in the past, she allowed herself be walked all over and play the guilty party quietly.

But she didn't know why with Sasuke she became this different person she didn't know she could become.

She turned to this spit fire which was opposite her meek and submissive self.

She didn't know if Sasuke was that vexing or she was acting that way because deep inside her, she hated Uchiha like all her clan members.

But she didn't act that way with Fugaku Uchiha.

Which means Sasuke was that vexing of a person.

The thought of him made her blood boil from their encounter in the morning.

She didn't know how people were able to work with him.

Then she remembered Itachi's biting words to her in the elevator, but when she put aside the acidity in those words, she could see the truth behind them.

She made it too easy for Sasuke to fire her.

Eventhough Sasuke could have kindly told her how he preferred his coffee, she could have also asked instead of making her own assumptions based on Itachi.

They were clearly two different people, and she herself noticed that the first day she met Sasuke.

So it was quite silly she quickly assumed Sasuke would like his coffee sweet like Itachi.

She could have even perceived how Sasuke preferred his coffee without even asking him.

She just had to look at the aura he emitted.

Dark and bitter.

But then all this made her realise something she had been to blind to see from before.

She made her whole world revolve solely around Itachi and as such all she saw, all her thoughts, all her plans and all her decisions were based on him.

As Ko said, all she saw was him and as such she saw nothing apart from him.

It made her realise for the first time how unhealthy her strong feelings could get.

_Could it be that all this love, was obsession?_

No, Hinata refused to believe that, knowing that what she felt for Itachi in her heart was true and pure.

But she realised it could get overwhelming and blind her, especially now that she had lost her father and was trying to use Itachi to fill that painful gaping hole inside.

She realised it was time had her head and priorities straight.

She now on had too many people depending on her to make Itachi her whole world.

She couldn't continue acting like lovesick school girl and forget about everything anytime she saw him.

She loved him and was going to find out what happened to him, but she first and foremost had to get her father's company back, and she knew through that she would be able to prove Itachi had nothing to do with the takeover like he wants her to believe and she would find out what was wrong with him.

But the problem now is how to get her job back.

But that meant having to go on her knees to beg for it.

Her whole body rejected the idea of doing that.

She had to find another way to get her job back. She would save kneeling him for the worst….worst, worst case scenario.

But first she realised, she didn't apologize for her mistake and eventhough Sasuke wasn't her favourite person in the world, she owed him that.

She had to suck in her pride, apologize to him and ask for her job in that order.

Even if it was Sasuke.

She said herself she would do anything to get her father's company.

This was one of them.

Hinata took one last look into the lake house with a grateful look in her eyes as she felt coming to this place helped her cleared her mind and made her think straight.

She made her way out and headed towards Uchiha towers.

….

* * *

Sasuke had paced in his office deep in thought as Suigestu begrudgingly cleared up the mess Sasuke had made all by himself.

_The things I do for a salary_. Suigestu said ….in his head of course.

Sasuke had agreed to Itachi's challenge and there was no way he was going to back down from it.

He had to get Hinata Hyuga back to work for him before he could begin the challenge.

All he had to do was simply to call her back.

But Sasuke from his few encounters with Hinata, realised quite painfully that nothing was simple with Hinata Hyuga.

He thought the job meant a lot to her as they made her believe that was the only way to get at most half of her father's possession when in reality it was far from that.

Then something hit him.

_What if she had realised this, that's why she walked away so easily?_

_What if asking her to kneel before me, made her come to such a realisation?_

Sasuke felt like kicking himself.

How did he think a Hyuga would simply kneel before him in the first place?

It was too soon to get her on her knees when she was still on her two feet with her snobby nose in the clouds.

And then something hit again him that made dread wash all over him.

It never occurred to him till now, about what would happen if his dad found out.

He had asked to personally handle Hinata Hyuga and see to it she was completely crushed before she left her and not with her dignity and pride intact.

Even if it killed him to admit it, what Itachi said was the actual truth.

If their father found out about this, it would just give him more reason why he never trusted with him with anything and completely writes him of as a failure not worth his time.

Sasuke felt cornered and he hated it.

He now saw he had no option but to bring the Hyuga back before his dad found out.

He hated how the tables had now turned on him.

He needed the Hyuga to get his father's approval.

And Sasuke loathed every tiny bit of it with a raging passion.

And it made his hate for Hinata increase by a tenfold.

He took in a deep breath and took his phone to call her number his dad had given him the day before.

He stared at the number for a long hard minute and decided he would call when he gets to the elevator.

All his thoughts were making him claustrophobic in his office and he needed to go outside for a breather.

"Suigestu, if my father asks of the Hyuga, tell him I have sent her on an errand and if he asks of me afterwards I have business meeting to attend to." He said flippantly over his shoulder as he made his way to the door.

Suigestu face scrunched in confusion.

"Have you not already fired Hina-"

"Suigestu." Sasuke cut Suigestu off sharply, pinning him down with his glare.

Suigestu gulped loudly.

"I will tell your father just that." Suigestu sang with an impish smile on his face.

"Good. I want my office in order by the time I get back." And with that order Sasue opened the door and left his office.

Suigestu deadpanned.

_I hate this job._

….

* * *

By the time Sasuke had reached the parking lot, he had procrastinated calling Hinata like a 50 times.

It made him feel like a wimp and he hated it.

He had decided that for the last time, the very last time when he got inside his car, he would make the dreaded call and be done with it.

Which seemed to make him slow his pace so he doesn't get to his car to early. When he was a few footsteps away from his car, he decided he was being ridiculous and would just call already and get it over with.

He picked the phone and without a moment's thought tapped her number to start dialling.

To his surprise, she picked his call quite quickly than he expected.

"Where are you, Hyuga?" he asked in a demanding tone, unlike person who was trying to convince someone to come back and work for him.

"Right behind you." He heard her soft voice through the phone which took him aback.

"What?"

Sasuke whipped his head sharply in disbelief to see Hinata in the flesh, standing right there behind him, with her phone to her ear, like he had summoned her here with just his thoughts.

_**Reviews please!**_


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